The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday took its team of campaigners to Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to enlighten rural duelers in the area on the meaning and essence of financial inclusiveness in national development.
The awareness creation initiative is in line with the nation’s financial authorities’ commitment to achieve 80 per cent rate in financial inclusion by 2020, the
The Acting Director-General of the commission, Ms. Mary Uduk, in her opening remarks, urged the residents to embrace the initiative which, she said, was organised to ensure that various products at affordable costs are made available to the excluded.
The campaign had been done in Karshi, Bwari, Kuje Area Councils and University of Abuja by SEC.
Uduk, who was represented by an Assistant Director in the commission, Mr Frank Okafor said:“I ‘d like to invite all of you who are yet to enroll for E-dividend to hurriedly approach your Bankers/Registrars to enable your dividends be electronically sent to your account.”
In his goodwill message, Hilary Ewubor of the Strategy Coordination Office in the financial inclusion secretariat of the CBN, noted that financial inclusion had direct link with economic growth and rural development.
The banker recalled how the bank had been able to penetrate a larger number of the unbanked communities in the country through different intervention programmes in furtherance of its financial inclusion drive.
He also urged people at the grassroots to go into formation of cooperatives to be able to access the many intervention funds of the central bank that include Accelerated Agricultural Development Programme – an advanced Anchor Borrowers’ scheme, targeted at the youth.
The investment expert pointed out that as part of efforts to make the campaign an all-inclusive one, the apex bank was opening banking halls, using NIPOST as agents in its bid to bring banking operations to rural dwellers.
Similarly, the representative of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Dr (Mrs) Hyeladzira Ochonogor, while assuring the people of security of their deposits and investments, told them “your money will not be lost. Your monies are secured with NDIC.”
She encouraged them to open bank accounts to benefit in the numerous advantages of modern financial market, pointing out tha t“your money in the bank helps to grow the economy.”
