The Nigerian Labour Union leaders from various sectors of the economy have pledged support to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on its efforts towards ensuring stability in the financial system and the economy in general.
The bank held a one-day interactive enlightenment session with stakeholders in Lagos over the weekend, on measures by the CBN to ensure stability in the financial System and the economy.
In his remarks, the Director Corporate Communications of the CBN, Isaac Okoroafor used the opportunity to call on Labour Unions to appeal to their members and indeed the general public to respect the Naira and stop abusing it.
Okoroafor encouraged participants and others to return every dirty and mutilated Naira notes to their banks and challenge or report to CBN any financial institution that refuses to accept such dirty notes.
According to him, “The law is very clear on it. When you abuse the notes by spraying them, you get a jail term, or a N50,000 fine or both.”
He added, “We have told banks to assemble all the old or mutilated naira notes for reprinting. We have given banks three months to do that.”
“Most of the time we take decisions that we think is good for every body in terms of cost and convenience,” Okoroafor clarified.
He also shed light on the monetary policy of the CBN and measures to ensure financial system stability; CBN’s consumer protection, financial literacy and financial inclusion drives.
According to him, in the foreign exchange space, the CBN has “killed the black market” by ensuring that the exchange rates converged at a single window , which is the Bureau De Change (BDC).
Also, he said that the apex banking sector regulator’s loans are in single digits, adding that people should begin to read through terms and conditions of loan application forms before signing them.
He warned against fake loans, saying that every CBN-approved loans as well as the guide to bank charges are available on CBN’s website.
Responding, the national vice chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress, Comrade Issa Aremu, said that it was heartwarming that the apex bank was exploring deeper measures to ensure the stability in the financial system.
He assured the CBN of the support of Labour Union across the country, but also calls the apex bank to strive for a lower interest rate in order to make cheap loans available in the country.