Economy
By Anthony Isibor and Christabel Ejenike.
STAKEHOLDERS at the inaugural conference of financial inclusion initiative of the federal government have agreed to include financial literacy in the drive for increased financial inclusion in the country.
The event, organized by STANMEG Communications, publishers of Oriental News Nigeria, to enable the engagement of all critical grassroots groups to chart the course that will drive effective financial inclusion initiative took place in Lagos, on Thursday, June 16, 2022.
Presented at the event were community based people, artisans, low income groups, market men and women, special persons (disability groups), as well as displaced persons.
Yemisi Izuora, Editor of Oriental News Nigeria in her welcome address revealed that this year’s edition of the programme, which began about two years ago was prompted by feedback generated especially from the grassroots segments of the society.
“The conference is being organised given that over the past couple of years, the federal government and stakeholders in the financial sector have had to deal with expanding financial services to large community of underserved population and dealing with resilience challenges brought about by the confluence of events that have taken place.
Ray Echebiri, one of the participants at the event noted that although financial inclusion was important, keeping money in the bank makes one poorer due to inflation.
He, therefore advocated for financial literacy to intimate the people of the various investment opportunities that are available to them.
Another participant, David O, Anyaele, Executive Director, Centre for Citizen with Disability, CCD, who narrated his ordeal in getting a bank account noted that discrimination of the disabled was a major challenge in the quest for financial inclusiveness in Nigeria.
According to him, out of about 200 banks understudied in Nigeria, only 1% had the facilities for disabled people.
“The system, process, everything is designed to discriminate,” he said.
He recommended for an audit of the banks in Nigeria to ascertain the level of access to persons with disabilities.
The Guest Speaker, Garba Kurfi, Managing Director, APT Securities and Funds Limited, who was represented by Rotimi Oludi, noted that financial inclusion has been a big challenge in the Nigerian financial sector.
According to him, finance has a huge role to play in breaking the cycle of poverty in the nation as lack of bank accounts automatically disenfranchises people from being able to easily access the credit facilities available in the capital market.
He also encouraged the adoption of simplicity and accessibility in the formulation policies to encourage financial inclusiveness, create enabling environment to serve the most excluded, improve the adoption of cashless payment platforms.
The panelists, who included Sa’adatu A Faruk, Head, Financial Inclusion Division, Market Development Department, David O Anyaele, Executive Director, Centre for Citizen with Disabilities, CCD, Rasaaq Salami, Deputy Director/Head Corporate Communications and Market Development, NAICOM, Freda Ruth Bruce-Bennet, Deputy director, Digital Economic Department, Nigeria Communications Commission, agreed that there was need to find solutions to the various challenges discouraging financial inclusion in Nigeria.
Part of the challenges were extortions by the banks, lack of access, lack of information, various bank charges that are unaccounted for, among others.
One of the panelists, Bruce-Bennet said that people could easily get into the capital market with as low as N1,000 by pulling resources together and urged the audience to take advantage of the various financial opportunities available in the financial market.
In her remarks, Maureen Chigbo, President, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, GOCOP, expressed delight at the thoughtfulness of the organizers of the event.
According to her, Yemisi is holding a very important event and for a first timer, she has done well.
– June 16, 2022 @ 16:10 GMT | AI.
Tags: David O Anyaele Freda Ruth Bruce-Bennet Garba Kurfi Guild of Corporate Online Publishers Maureen Chigbo NAICOM Ray Echebiri Rotimi Oludi Sa’adatu A Faruk Yemisi Izuora
