The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday endorsed the proposal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to use Lagos State as a test case for the e-banking and cashless economy projects, the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, said at the end of the meeting held at the State House.
He said this followed a briefing by the Central Bank Governor, Lamidi Sanusi and his team, on the overview of the country's economy in the past two quarters and to discuss the new initiatives taken by the apex bank in reforming the economy.
Mr Maku said the FEC gave its approval because of its multidimensional advantages, particularly, in reducing the running costs of banks by almost 30 per cent and affording every Nigerian the opportunity of a direct participation in the financial sector.
"We discussed new initiatives the bank is taking to reform the economy," he said. "CBN has decided to start the cashless economy in Lagos, using Lagos as the hub in partnership with the Governor of Lagos state and, in few months to come, Lagos will move swiftly into e-banking and there is also the initiative to introduce mobile banking across the country so that, with our telecoms, we can use them to open our bank account, transfer money, receive payment or withdrawals. It will help reduce cost of running banks by 30 percent and this initiative is very good for the economy so that even people in rural areas can participate in the financial sector.''
The CBN proposal aims at limiting cash withdrawals and deposits with banks, with a ceiling of N150, 000 and N1m on free cash withdrawals and lodgments by individual and corporate customers.
Mr. Labaran also said the CBN team told the Council that the economy is on the right path, with the growth rate of 6.4 per cent in the first quarter and the overall growth put at 7.8 per cent.
Standards for education
On the inflationary movement, Mr Labaran said the CBN reports stated that headline inflation in the first and second quarters of the year stood at 12.8 percent.
"Generally, the inflation trend has been coming downward, which is very good for the economy and we got the assurance from the CBN that it will continue to
maintain those policies that have stabilized inflation,'' he said.
The Minister also said the CBN team also reported to Council the upward progression witnessed in crude oil production, which has gone up to 2.4 million barrels per day which was attributed mainly to the peace in the Niger Delta region.
In a related development, the minister said Council gave the approval to Federal Ministry of Education to forward an Executive Bill to the National Assembly for an Act for the amendment of Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institution Act and other Related Matters.
The Bill, if passed, will empower the National University Commission to handle cases of proliferation of illegal universities and prescribe punishment for those who violate minimum quality standard for the establishment of Universities and Courses.
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He said this followed a briefing by the Central Bank Governor, Lamidi Sanusi and his team, on the overview of the country's economy in the past two quarters and to discuss the new initiatives taken by the apex bank in reforming the economy.
Mr Maku said the FEC gave its approval because of its multidimensional advantages, particularly, in reducing the running costs of banks by almost 30 per cent and affording every Nigerian the opportunity of a direct participation in the financial sector.
"We discussed new initiatives the bank is taking to reform the economy," he said. "CBN has decided to start the cashless economy in Lagos, using Lagos as the hub in partnership with the Governor of Lagos state and, in few months to come, Lagos will move swiftly into e-banking and there is also the initiative to introduce mobile banking across the country so that, with our telecoms, we can use them to open our bank account, transfer money, receive payment or withdrawals. It will help reduce cost of running banks by 30 percent and this initiative is very good for the economy so that even people in rural areas can participate in the financial sector.''
The CBN proposal aims at limiting cash withdrawals and deposits with banks, with a ceiling of N150, 000 and N1m on free cash withdrawals and lodgments by individual and corporate customers.
Mr. Labaran also said the CBN team told the Council that the economy is on the right path, with the growth rate of 6.4 per cent in the first quarter and the overall growth put at 7.8 per cent.
Standards for education
On the inflationary movement, Mr Labaran said the CBN reports stated that headline inflation in the first and second quarters of the year stood at 12.8 percent.
"Generally, the inflation trend has been coming downward, which is very good for the economy and we got the assurance from the CBN that it will continue to
maintain those policies that have stabilized inflation,'' he said.
The Minister also said the CBN team also reported to Council the upward progression witnessed in crude oil production, which has gone up to 2.4 million barrels per day which was attributed mainly to the peace in the Niger Delta region.
In a related development, the minister said Council gave the approval to Federal Ministry of Education to forward an Executive Bill to the National Assembly for an Act for the amendment of Education National Minimum Standard and Establishment of Institution Act and other Related Matters.
The Bill, if passed, will empower the National University Commission to handle cases of proliferation of illegal universities and prescribe punishment for those who violate minimum quality standard for the establishment of Universities and Courses.
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