Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Central Bank Governor (CBN), says the apex bank is planning to compel banks to open special branches for persons with disabilities nationwide.
?The CBN governor made this known on Thursday, in Abuja, when the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JANPWD) paid him a courtesy visit.
“We have a strong commitment to women and disabled; we have actually been working on affirmative action policies for disabled. While the policy is being prepared, we have started implementing.
?“For example, we are building a new head office in Lagos and we made sure that in the construction of the office, we consider wheelchair users.
?“At the last bankers committee where we talked about women, I told them we are going to come up with a policy that will make sure that every bank has, in every town, at least one branch that is disabled-friendly.
?“We will not ask them to restructure their 400 branches, but in Abuja there should be a branch; in Kano a branch; in every city, a branch.
?“In Lagos, you go to Ikoyi or Victoria Island or Ikeja, in each of those places, every bank must say, this is our disabled-friendly branch.
?“This has already been announced to them at bankers committee. We just have not yet finalised the regulations that we are going to issue and we are happy to have received you now, because we now know one or two other issues we did not consider.’’
Sanusi explained that the move was part of CBN’s focus on financial inclusion that would help include people who had been institutionally excluded from the society.
He said that the apex bank, under his leadership, had championed the cause of persons with disabilities through the bank’s affirmative action policy.
The CBN governor pointed out that the bank had six people living with disabilities in its employ at the moment, a number he described as “very small”.
He, however, said that the apex bank was to offer jobs to “qualified people that have degrees in the right areas because we are actually looking for qualified disabled people”.
?According to him, the CBN will have the moral right to compel banks to open disabled-friendly branches if it employs persons with disabilities.
Earlier, Mr. Danlami Basharu, the National President of JANPWD, pointed out that banking services to persons with disabilities in recent times, had been on the decline.??
“Our colleagues, who use wheel chairs, feel most aggrieved that they are given such ignominious treatment when they have to use a bank for their businesses.
“Sometimes, they are told to remain outside the bank to be attended to because the revolving doors leading into the banking hall cannot recognise the metallic structure of their wheel chairs.
“Worse still are our deaf colleagues, who feel most frustrated as there is no sign language? interpreter to assist in getting their messages across to the bank officials.”
According to him, the blind are also handicapped where the identification of bank notes is concern.
He said as a result, many of them were often short-changed by unscrupulous cashiers.
?Basharu noted with dismay that persons with disabilities were usually the most affected during retrenchments in banks.
?He called on the CBN governor to set up committee to investigate the undeserved retrenchment of its members. (NAN)