President Muhammadu Buhari has granted leave to Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria to operate undisrupted during the period of controlled curfew on the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and Lagos and Ogun States.
The new information is contained in a joint statement issued by the Minister of Finance, Budget and Planning, Zainab Ahmed and the Governor of the Central Bank Godwin Emefiele.
The Finance Minister and CBN Governor said they obtained Presidential approval to permit critical financial services to function during the 14-days lockdown period.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had issued a directive, restricting the movement of people – excluding those on essential service – with effect from 11pm on Monday, March 30, 2020, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun States, as a response to the corona virus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Consequently, the statement disclosed that relevant security agencies have been requested to grant passage to critical staff of these institutions to enable essential and strategic financial transactions to go undisrupted during the period of the lockdown.
These institutions include: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Deposit Money Banks (DMBs); the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) Plc and Switching companies.
Others on the exception list are: Mobile money operators and Payment solution service providers.
In view of the ongoing restrictions and in order to check further spread of the corona virus disease, the CBN urged the general public to limit their use
of cash and avail themselves of the use of alternative payment channels such as mobile banking, Internet banking, Mobile money, Point of Sale, and USSD.
“The public is therefore assured that financial institutions will remain operational during this period and therefore should guard against panic withdrawals from their banks.
“We also urge all Nigerians to adhere strictly to the movement restrictions and follow stipulated guidelines by the Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and other relevant health agencies of government to curb possible spread of the virus in Nigeria,” Okorafor added.