The Senate has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to suspend the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) maintenance and withdrawal charges from customers by banks pending the outcome of the investigation by the banking, insurance and other financial institutions and finance committees.

This followed a motion moved by Gbenga Ashafa of the ruling All Progressives Congress representing Lagos State East Senatorial district, on ‘illicit and excessive charges by Nigerian banks in customers accounts’.

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu seconded the motion, saying, “The ATM charge is not the only charge we get from the bank, there are VAT charges and so on; this is unacceptable. We have the Customer Protection Agency in Nigeria, but they are not living up to expectations.”

Reacting to the motion, the Senate president Bukola Saraki said, “this is a motion that affects the lives of every Nigerian  irrespective of what part of the country you come from or whatever political affiliation you might have. This is why we are here to always defend and protect the interests of the Nigerian people.”

The senate also mandated the committees to invite the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele to appear before it in order to explain why the official charges as approved by the CBN are skewed in favour of the banking institutions as against the ordinary customers of the banks, just as they called on the CBN to instruct the commercial banks to immediately configure their ATMs to ensure N40,000 per withdrawal, instead of the current limit of N10,000.