27th February, 2012
A cross section of Nigerians have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to carry out more enlightenment campaigns on its cashless monetary policy.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the cashless policy took off in Lagos on January 1.
The National Chairman, Progressive Action Council (PAC), Chief Charles Nwodo, in an interview with NAN in Lagos, called on the National Orientation Agency (NOA), to come out with awareness programmes on the policy.
This, he said, was necessary given the high rate of illiteracy in the country.
He also called on the CBN to establish mobile courts to prosecute anyone involved in sharp practices in the course of executing the policy.
“If the laws are not there to instantly try them, the whole initiative will be a mess because that is the only way to check the operations of the evil ones,” he said.
According to him, the electronic monetary operations in Lagos must be done with utmost care because of pervasive corruption in the country.
In his comment, the Executive Director of CLEEN Foundation, an NGO, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, also stressed the need for public enlightenment.
“There is need for the government to ensure that it creates awareness and enhance security during online operations and transactions,” he said.
Chukwuma added, that the operations of ATM cards and associated cashless devices should be made more effective.
“A situation where people will go out with ATM cards to make some transactions and find out that either the card is not working or the machine itself is not working was discouraging,” he stressed.
He advised the government to ensure that the fraud associated with it was equally addressed so as to instill more confidence in the policy.
In his reaction, the Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), Auwal Rafsanjani, called on the government to ensure discipline in the system.
“Government must make sure that they did not break the law by favouring some powerful individuals in the society otherwise it will not really get anywhere.
“So there must be an equal and uniform application of this law because that is the only way to restore and instill confidence,” he added.
He also advocated that a strong mechanism should be put in place to ensure that the staff of the banks do not abuse the initiative.