40% Nigerians lack access to financial service, says NDIC

By Omobayo Azeez

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has said that 40 per cent of Nigerians lack access to financial services.

In the light of this reality, Umaru Ibrahim, the corporation’s managing director and chief executive officer, stressed the need to bring more people into the financial services system in the country.

He spoke while receiving the Alumni Association of the Institute (AANI) which recently paid a courtesy visit on him at the head office of the corporation in Abuja.

Ibrahim called for close partnership and collaboration with AANI for the rapid economic development of the country.

He disclosed that the corporation was established in 1989 to promote public confidence in the banking industry; contribute to the stability of the financial system, as well as ensure an orderly resolution of failed financial institutions.

The NDIC boss also further reiterated that presently, about 40 per cent of Nigerians are either financial excluded or operate outside the formal financial system.

He therefore urged the association to partner with the corporation to accelerate the pace of financial literacy and financial inclusion among the Nigerian public.

He disclosed that the NDIC, in close collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will continue to support the introduction of affordable products and services not only to the general public, but also to vulnerable women and dwellers in rural communities.

In furtherance of its elaborate initiatives towards achieving the desired level of financial inclusion in the country, Ibrahim expressed the commitment of the corporation to support the introduction of new channels of providing financial services such as agency banking, payments service banks, and mobile banking, among others which will enable small depositors have access to financial services across the Country.

In that respect, he called on the general public, especially retired senior public servants and retired bankers to acquire agency banking and MFB licences in order to make modest contributions to the growth and promotion of these services in their respective communities.