Politics

PDP demands suspension of ATM, mobile transfer, electricity charges

Monday, April 20, 2020 at 12:01 AM by Aanu Adegun

- PDP asks CBN to suspend ATM, mobile transfer, electronic charges

- According to the opposition party, this will help ease Nigerians' burdens

- It said this will also encourage more Nigerians to support one another at this critical time

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should immediately open an arrangement with commercial banks for the suspension of charges for use of ATM cards and low amount mobile fund transfers as part of the panacea to ease the burden of poor Nigerians during the COVID-19 lockdown.

The party notes that the lockdown has subjected majority of Nigerians to extensive use of ATM and mobile transfers for survival, making the suspension of charges on minimal transactions within this period of restriction highly imperative.

It added that the lifting of the charges within the period of this pandemic will ease the burden on cash withdrawals by our vulnerable citizens as well as encourage more Nigerians to support one another at this critical time.

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The PDP also demands the CBN to immediately liaise with commercial banks and stimulate a special social sustenance modality to defray the cost of such charges, particularly to cover minimal transactions in favour of vulnerable Nigerians.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the federal government says Nigerians with more than N5,000 in their bank accounts will not benefit from the palliatives being planned to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown extension.

The minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, Sadiya Farouq, made this known to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday, April 15, The Nation reports.

Explaining the modalities for the disbursement of the package, the minister said the focus will be on the urban poor in the implementation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive.

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Also, in a related development, Legit.ng reported that as the coronavirus lockdown bites harder on Nigerians, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has advised President Buhari on how to sustain the economy and save citizens from hunger.

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Tinubu advocated an economic relief package in the form of emergency sustenance payments to vulnerable Nigerians.

The APC leader also urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to lower interest rates to single digits in order to assist the private sector and help reduce the charge on deficit spending.

In another related report, Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's former vice-president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 presidential election, has advised African leaders on how to save the continent's economy in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the recommendations given by the experienced politician is that Nigerian and other African leaders must be united in the face of the pandemic and seek debt relief.

Atiku also advised President Buhari and other African leaders to start preparing for how to tackle another economic recession which may happen soon due to COVID-19.