Gov. Emefiele calls for Sustained Committment to the Objectives of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy

 

The 2nd National Financial inclusion Steering Committee meeting held on Thursday, 28th January 2016 at the Central Bank of Nigeria Headquarters in Abuja. The Committee was set up to give policy and strategic direction on the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy tasked with achieving the overall target of 80% financial inclusion of adult Nigerians by the year 2020.

 

The meeting which was chaired by the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin I. Emefiele had in attendance; the CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, Alh. Suleiman Barau, Alh. Umaru Ibrahim, Managing Director of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, Director-General, National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Engr. Aliyu Aziz, Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Ogun E.A, Postmaster-General of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), Ms. Modupe Ladipo, Chief Executive Officer of Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) EFInA.

 

L-R: Alh. Umaru Ibrahim – MD, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alh. Suleiman Barau – CBN Deputy Governor, Operations and Mr. W. Laminu – Director, Federal Ministry of Youth Development

 

Also in attendance were Executives from Apex Industry Groups including Mr. Emeka Emuwa, Managing Director, Union Bank of Nigeria (Bankers’ Committee), Mr. Valentine Whensu, President, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), Mr. H. T. Afolabi, President, Association of Non-Bank Microfinance Institutions (ANMFIN), Mr. Dare Owolabi, President, Licensed Mobile Payment Operators of Nigeria (ALMPO), Ms. Ore Sofekun, President, Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN). All the other stakeholders were also represented.

 

L-R: Mr. Enoch A. Ogun – Ag. Postmaster-General, NIPOST, Mr. Emeka Emuwa - MD/CEO , Union Bank of Nigeria (representing Bankers’ Committee,) Engr. Aliyu Aziz Abubakar - Director-General, National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Development Finance, Mr. Paul N. Eluhaiwe

 

In his Opening Remarks, the Chairman reaffirmed the critical role of financial inclusion in empowering the low-income and vulnerable citizens of the country. He acknowledged the contributions of stakeholders to the strategy implementation process and called for sustained commitment to ensuring the realization of the set objectives of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy in Nigeria.

 

An update on the Baseline survey on Financial Literacy in Nigeria was presented to the Committee by the Director, Consumer Protection Department, Mrs. Umma Dutse. She highlighted that only 4% of Nigerians had access to credit from Banks while 83.9% of those who borrow, obtain money from friends and family. The presentation also showed that financial literacy was key for the development of appropriate financial behaviour including: capability; knowledge and awareness; attitudes; confidence; planning and business management. The results also showed that only 2% of individuals running a business separate their business accounts, from their individual account, making entrepreneurs a key focus group for the financial literacy framework.

 

Director, Consumer Protection Department – Mrs. Umma Dutse, presenting the Results of the Baseline Survey on Financial Literacy in Nigeria

 

On her part, Mrs. Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, Secretary to the Committee and Head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat presented the progress report on the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, noting initiatives by stakeholders to drive the implementation process. She also provided updates on the 4 (Four) Technical working groups set up to address implementation issues, highlighting some of the milestones as follows:

• The approval of the pass-through deposit insurance for Mobile Money subscribers and cover for Microfinance Banks by NDIC
• The approval of a new department for coverage of informal pensions by PENCOM
• The approval of a National Collateral Registry by the CBN
• The approval of the Financial Literacy Framework by CBN and on-going curriculum development process for integrating financial literacy into the academic curriculum.

 

Secretary to the Committee/ Head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat– Mrs. Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, presenting the Progress Report on the National Financial Inclusion Strategy

 

An update on the results 2nd round Geospatial mapping survey of financial access points in the country was provided by the Consultant, Mr. Chris Goeller (Brand Fusion). He highlighted findings from the survey which involved the physical capturing of photographs, addresses and geographical location/distribution of 50,838 financial access points including Branches, ATM and Agent locations across the country.

 

The key findings as presented in the Financial Access Atlas (2015) revealed varying degree of access density across geopolitical zones; citing ATMs per 100,000 adults as highest in the South-West (26.8) followed by South–South (15.6), North-Central (15.5) and South East (11.8), among others. Members were invited to access www.fspmaps.com for the online interactive mapping tool with detailed breakdown on financial access points within 5km radius of any point on the map of Nigeria.

 

The meeting ended with the stakeholders’ discussions and resolutions on required actions to further reduce the financial exclusion rates of 39.5% towards the target 20% by the year 2020. The 2016 schedule of Committee meeting was approved with the next two meetings scheduled to hold in May, and September, 2016.