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• Lamentations, as network failure mars exercise
• We have opened online channels for customers to link NIN/BVN – Banks
•Customers on queue
By Tony John (Port Harcourt), Noah Ebije and Sola Ojo (Kaduna), Vivian Onyebukwa (Lagos), Felix Ikem (Nsukka), Aloysius Attah (Onitsha), Ogbonnaya Ndukwe (Aba), Timothy Olanrewaju (Maiduguri)
Bank customers across the country are going through varying degrees of stress to meet the deadline set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) for subscribers to link their telephone lines with their National Identification Numbers (NIN) and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN).
The CBN had on December 1, 2023, issued a circular, directing that a mandatory requirement for a certain category of bank accounts and wallets should be linked with NIN and/or BVN of the operator. It gave a March 1, 2024 deadline for compliance and directed the banks to place accounts that failed to comply within the stipulated time on hold.
The NCC had given a similar directive to telecommunication companies to bar subscribers who failed to link their phone numbers to their NIN on or before February 28, 2024. In compliance, the telecommunication companies blocked about 40 million lines upon the expiration of the deadline.
But investigations by Saturday Sun reveal that bank customers and subscribers to mobile networks are going through harrowing experiences in most parts of the country to link their NIN and BVN to their bank accounts even as some of them have already been barred from accessing their bank accounts.
Lagos
According to John Okon, a Lagos based trader, it took hours to gain entry into a bank to link his NIN to his bank account as a result of the number of people who wanted to gain entry into the banking hall for the same purpose at the time he arrived at the bank.
He lamented: “I spent close to two hours waiting for my turn. It was horrible. Must we suffer to get everything in this country? Why is our government treating us this way? Why would they put a deadline to it?”
Also, Agnes Okoro, a primary school teacher queried: “Why are we always in a hurry to do everything in this country? The government should consider its citizens each time they are making a new policy. People are suffering. Why are they adding to our suffering? I spent more than one hour waiting to go through the process when I went to the bank to do it. The crowd was too much.”
Okoro explained further that she had to leave home very early so that she would be among the people to be attended to at the bank for the day. “The last time I went, the crowd was huge, so I had to go back home. However, the process was easy and did not take much time, it’s just the crowd,” she lamented.
Enugu
In Nsukka, Enugu State, residents who have been caught in the web of the ‘post no debit’ order of the CBN are facing a challenging time going to banks and NIN offices for registration due to a surge in the number of people with BVN/NIN related issues.
At some commercial banks along Enugu Road in Nsukka that were monitored by our reporters, customers were seen in their numbers seeking to register their BVN and NIN and link the same with their bank accounts. Some of the customers complained about the snail pace of the process, especially at the point of BVN registration, due to intermittent network glitches.
Samuel Nwangwu, a resident, said that his bank account was blocked four days earlier over BVN and NIN issues.
“I came from Mkpologwu in Uzo-Uwani LGA. For the past three days now, I have been visiting this particular bank because they blocked my account, I can’t withdraw again simply because I don’t have BVN and NIN numbers.
“I managed to register for the BVN today (Wednesday) only for them to tell me that the information in the identification card I presented to them (my voter’s card) like date of birth, and my middle name are not the same as the information I gave them in my BVN.
“Now they are telling me to go to court and obtain an affidavit of declaration of age from the court, as well as go to a national newspaper and do a publication of correction of names and return it to them.
“It’s unfortunate that the government will at this critical time introduce measures and processes that are stressful to citizens,” he said.
At the NIN office in Nsukka Local Government Headquarters where over 200 people were waiting for their turn to register and obtain their NIN, Juliana Agu, a resident, told our reporter that she had spent over six hours and was yet to be registered.
Meanwhile, a manager at one of the banks who pleaded anonymity said that the bank was doing everything possible to ensure that all their customers were attended to satisfactorily, adding that the bank had opened an online platform where customer can easily link their BVN and NIN in simple steps with their smart phones without coming to the bank.
Onitsha
In Onitsha and environs, banks and local government secretariats are overcrowded owing to the number of people queuing up to either obtain their NIN or update their bank details.
Following the stoppage of NIN enrolment in various privately owned centres by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), local government headquarters in Anambra have become beehive of activities as residents besiege them.
In Onitsha South LGA Secretariat, Fegge, Onitsha North secretariat, Onitsha GRA and Idemili North Secretariat, Ogidi, visited by the reporter, it was the same story of long queues, pushing and shoving among those seeking to obtain their NIN. While some among those on queue sought to collect their already captured NIN cards, others were struggling to obtain fresh ones.
Investigation by our reporters indicated that the operators collect gratification from intending subscribers in a subtle manner in order to facilitate their NIN registration.
Stephen Okeke, one of the residents, told Saturday Sun in Onitsha that he had visited the NIMC centre three times but had not succeeded in getting registered. At a commercial bank in Onitsha visited by one of our reporters, network issues also hampered the seamless updating process by some prospective subscribers.
Aba
In Aba, Abia State, our correspondents discovered that many customers whose accounts failed to be properly linked, have had to stay long hours in queues, even as staff of the customer service department of the banks work hard to attend to them.
At three branches of some of the banks along Eziukwu Road/Milverton and Ojike Lane Junction, distressed customers were seen loitering within their premises, and complaining of not being attended to by the staff on duty.
Chief Ibe Nwauwa, a businessman, said he had been to his bank twice, spending hours without getting any positive results. He lamented that the stoppage of transactions in his account with the bank was a surprise as he claimed ignorance of the directive from the CBN.
“I had a payment to make to a customer in Lagos, but when I approached the bank on Tuesday, I was told to link my account with my NIN before they could continue dealing with me.
“At first, I thought it was a joke, but after hearing similar stories from other bank customers, I had to start getting my National Identity Card ready, to deliver to them. The problem at the moment is that there are so many people without it and we are told it takes between 24 and 48 hours for it to be properly linked,” he lamented.
Another customer, Mabel Uzoukwu, said she tried to acknowledge the receipt of payment made into her account by a customer from another location for goods to be supplied but couldn’t access her account or even receive alert of any payments.
Maiduguri
In Borno State, some residents revealed that it was seamless linking their bank accounts with their NIN. Others however, knocked the directive, claiming it was meant to inflict more pains on the poor and ordinary Nigerians.
“I spent almost four hours in the bank to complete the process. I wanted to leave the bank because of the crowd but my neighbour encouraged me to wait. We went together though the process didn’t take much time,” Muhammad Yusuf, a Maiduguri resident told Saturday Sun.
But another resident, Simon Yohana said he had a seamless experience. “I went to the bank early in the morning, completed the process within a few minutes and left,” he said.
Others also complained of the poor Internet services in the state in recent times. “I spent two hours in the bank, left my shop in the morning but there was a delay. The bank said Internet service was bad,” said Hanatu Ibrahim, a stylist. But some also said they did theirs online with ease without going to their banks.
Port Harcourt
In Rivers State, some of the individuals who spoke to Saturday Sun said the surge of customers at banks and delays by bank staff in attending to them were frustrating.
According to them, the policy on NIN/BVN linkage came at the wrong time because of the hardship being experienced by citizens.
Prince Wiro, a Port Harcourt-based journalist and human rights crusader, said he spent four hours to gain access into a banking hall and it took another 45 minutes before he was attended to by bank staff.
“Last Tuesday, I went to my bank to link my NIN and BVN. After that day, I got a message from the same bank that I should come and link it to my bank account, which I did today (Thursday).
“But, my happiness is that they gave a website through which one could link the NIN and BVN at his convenient time. My worry is that this government should give Nigerians time, even throughout this year because people are suffering.”
Similarly, Margaret Onuorah, a self-employed graduate and mother of two, faulted the policy, saying that it was targeted at punishing the masses.
She stated: “I have gone to my bank two times without gaining access into the banking hall. How can I leave my children and be running from one bank to another? It is not good. This is another way of compounding the sufferings of Nigerians.”
Kaduna
In Kaduna State, the story seems to be different. Saturday Sun visited branches of some of these new and old generation banks which include Keystone, Jaiz, Stanbic IBTC, and FCMB where most of them appeared not to be under pressure. A few customers in sight, mostly adults, were not also in haste to link these two verification codes.
A staff of one of the banks who spoke in confidence said, “We have made the online links available to our customers so they can link these BVN and NIN to their accounts from the comfort of their homes.”
President of the Northern Youth Council of Nigeria, Isah Abubakar said: “I did mine a long time ago and it was seamless.”
Speaker, Arewa Youth Assembly, Muhammed Salihu told Saturday Sun: “It was a smooth process. No difficulty at all. I went to the bank and submitted my NIN personally. There were queues, but orderly in manner.”
Amina Mutiu, a business lady, also told one of our reporters: “I have not done it and they have not blocked my accounts. But one of my banks sent me a message on how to do it online. I will try to see whether it will go. I pray it does.”
