Nigerians in London, United Kingdom, have expressed frustration over the compulsory payment of £30 (about N10, 000) for the registration of the Bank Verification Number, as directed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Apparently sad over their plight, some of them during the week stormed the Nigeria High Commission in London to protest against the directive of the apex bank. Others took to the social media to vent their anger.
The CBN had recently extended the deadline for the BVN registration from June 30 to October 31, 2015 as disclosed in a circular issued to all deposit money banks operating in the country.
The Director, Banking and Payment Systems Department of the CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, said the extension became imperative in order to give bank customers more time to participate in the enrolment exercise.
The circular had read in part, “It has come to our notice that the BVN registration has elicited tremendous interest from the Nigerian banks’ customers who crowded the banking halls in order to beat the deadline.
“Furthermore, there is the need to give Nigerian banks’ customers in the Diaspora ample time to enrol on the programme. The guideline for their enrolment is being finalised and will be released soon.”
Though the BVN registration in Nigeria is free, Nigerians living in London have had to part with N10, 000 to enrol on the exercise.
The directive was said to have been issued by the apex bank, as confirmed by the UK chapter of the All Progressives Congress and Zenith Bank.
The APC, UK chapter, had asked the bank on Twitter about the authenticity of the directive and the bank replied, saying, “The letter is genuine. The fee is as communicated by CBN and the enrolment company was contracted by the CBN. We trust this helps.”
Attempts to get the comment of the ministry’s spokesperson, Ogbole Ahmedu-Ode, were not successful as he could not be reached on the phone. He also did not respond to a text message that was sent to him.
But investigations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs showed that the ministry was not involved in the BVN registration held in the UK.
A highly placed official in the ministry explained that the Nigeria High Commission in UK was not involved in the BVN registration, stressing that it was handled by a private firm which has no relationship with the embassy.
The source said that the high commission officials saw the posters advertising the BVN registration in London like other members of the public, noting that the “BVN registration was the private affair of a private company.”
“Neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor the Nigeria High Commission in the UK was involved in the BVN registration; the programme was handled by a private company which has no relationship with the ministry or the high commission,” the official said on Friday.
Also, the Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Mr. Mu’azu Ibrahim, could not be reached for comments as repeated calls made to his mobile phone did not connect.
