The House of Representatives has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt its directive to commercial banks on the addition of social media handles on “Know Your Customer” requirement.
The directive followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by the Minority Leader, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda, Hon. Kelechi Nwogu and eight others at plenary on Tuesday.
At the plenary, Nwogu, while moving the motion on behalf of his colleagues said the recent directive by CBN was in conflict with the provision of Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 on the right to privacy of citizens.
He argued that: “Banks in the country already have the names, telephone numbers, passport photographs, emails, National Identification Number (NIN), Biometric Verification Number (BVN), utility bills and other basic requirements with which to identify, know and monitor customers.
“There are better means of monitoring money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing, such as the Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), intelligence and crime tracking agencies, amongst others.
He explained that if the directive takes effect, Nigerians who are not on social media, with large turn overs from their businesses and trades, would be compelled to or systematically excluded from formal banking systems with its attendant negative effects and implications.
In his part, Hon. Chinda said the policy may cause “untold hardships” to millions of Nigerians, especially the illiterate or semi-literate business owners, traders and entrepreneurs living in the villages and rural areas who do not have social media handles if the policy is implemented.
“Implementing the CBN’s directive at this point may clearly be unnecessary as it is likely to bear a lot of pressure on teeming Nigerian masses.
“There is a need to revisit and halt the Central Bank of Nigeria directive to reduce the hardship and pain faced by teeming Nigerians.”
The motion was unanimously adopted when it was put to a voice vote by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house and presiding officer.
The Lawmakers then mandated the Committee on Banking and Currency (when constituted) to investigate the matter and report back within three weeks for further legislative action.