Lockdown: Suspend ATM, Electricity Charges – PDP Tells FG

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to open an arrangement with commercial banks for the suspension of charges for use of ATM cards.

It also called for the suspension of charges for low amount mobile fund transfers, as part of measures to ease the burden of poor Nigerians during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.

In a statement on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP noted 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.

“The party notes 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.

“The PDP 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,” the statement said.