The House of Representatives has requested that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) halt the implementation of its rule requiring banks to include clients’ social media handles as a means of identification.
Following a motion sponsored by nine members, the House passed this resolution.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued its Customer Due Diligence Regulations 2023, stating that include social media accounts on “Know Your Customer” forms would increase compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism funding laws.
The House was concerned, however, that if the directive goes into effect, Nigerians who are not on social media and have substantial turnovers from their enterprises and trades would be systematically barred from conventional financial institutions.
The House was concerned about the enormous pain the decision would cause millions of Nigerians, particularly illiterate or semi-literate business owners, dealers, and entrepreneurs living in villages and rural areas without social media handles.
Meanwhile, the House announced that it will look into the issue of excessive charges and illegal deductions by the country’s commercial banks.
