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AMMBAN Decries Mandatory CAC Registration of POS Agents
Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) has decried the directive coming from the Corporate Affairs Commission mandating all Point Of Sale (POS) agents to register with the commission.
At a press conference which was held over the weekend in Lagos, the group insisted that the reason tendered by the commission that the registration was to curb crime in the Fintech space was not tenable, maintaining that it was purely a revenue drive agenda.
In a paper read by the National General Secretary, Oluwasegun Elegbede on behalf of the President of the association, Fasasi Sarafsdeen Atanda said, “The Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents of Nigeria (AMMBAN) strongly disagrees with the recent directive by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) that all POS agents must register with it, regardless of their status as individuals or non-individuals. We believe this directive is unnecessary, contradictory to existing laws, and amounts to a mere revenue generation move to further tax hapless Nigerians.”
AMMBAN maintained that the reason that the directive was designed to curb crime in the financial space was not tenable. “We disagree with CAC’s claim that it wants to fight crimes in the agency agency banking business space through registration. We believe that the kind of crimes in the space are both human and technical, which CAC registration cannot fight.”
Referring to Section 18 (1) of CAMA which states that “A person may apply to the commission for the registration of a company” and section 22(1) states that “A company shall be deemed to be a separate legal entity from its members.”
The group insisted that what this means is that individuals and non-individuals (companies) have different legal statuses and requirements. Moreover, the CBN Policy on financial inclusion and development states that “agency banking services shall be provided by agents who are individuals or non-individuals (companies) registered with the CBN (Section 2.1).
“The group disclosed that the policy clearly recognized the distinction between individuals and non-individuals and does not require individuals to register with CAC,” the paper read.
AMMBAN disclosed that it has made and still making spirited efforts in combating the issue of crimes within their business space, and condemned the insistence of CAC to deploy the police to execute the directive against those who fail to register their business by July 7.
The group while denying allegation credited to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that AMMBAN members are colluding with bank staff to hoard cash or engage in buying and selling of cash. Aside asserting that the allegation was misleading, they also stated that it is damaging to the reputation of their members who are law-abiding citizens.
“Our association finds it criminal for anyone to buy and sell cash, as our role is to bring succour to the general populace at a very convenient cost to serve.” And they also called on the commission to endeavor to prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.
AMMBAN also categorically denied allegation that her members are responsible for scarcity of cash, adding that her members are also facing similar challenge because their agents are not given any preferences in accessing cash from the bank, saying, “it has been a long standing demand that the CBN categorize agencies into different tiers to enable them to have access to cash, rather than seeing them as individuals with a limit of N500000. This will help to address the current cash scarcity and promote financial inclusion.”
The group further said that they reject the CBN ‘s policy limiting multiple accounts/wallets to two. They added that the policy has crashed the agent network category and is an attack on financial inclusion. “We urge everyone to work together to promote financial inclusion and economic growth, rather than engaging in activities that can undermine the progress made so far.”
Chairman of AMMBAN, Fasasi Sarafadeen Atanda disclosed that their members have lost millions of jobs due to inconsistent policies in the Fintech space. “People are asking us why are we taking this step, we are taking this step to save millions of jobs in Nigeria, because it is not just about POS, it is actually beyond POS.
“We know the implications of most of these policies that are not well thought out and their impacts on the economy generally. As of today since the beginning of the cashless policy and the cash redesign policies last year, to the level of NIN and BVN linkage and then the recent policies of asking all agents to go and register with CAC, and lots of policies being dished out to providers internally via internal memo, such as restriction on how many accounts an agent can have, all these policies have led to the following statistics: We have lost over 1.5 million jobs in the last one year.”
He said there are over 3.7 million POS in circulation as of today, but the service providers were only able to deploy 2.7, leaving the gap of 1million POS amounting to a loss of 1million jobs in Nigeria.
He further added “Also agents that are utilizing Fintech solutions, they are utilizing mobile apps, they are utilizing websites, they are also exploring digital and Fintech solutions, that space alone is employing hundreds of jobs, in the form of app developers, UI, US Engineers and all others in that space, we have lost cumulatively 200,000 jobs.
He also stated that the aggregators were not left out in the policy summersaults. “And aggregators, we have about 217 registered Fintech companies in Nigeria and most of them are adopting the strategy of aggregators. Who are the aggregators or who are the agent network?
They are the people that are stepping down all the services of financial institutions. You have aggregators that are helping providers to deploy and manage US terminals and each and every one of these 217 registered Fintech, they have a minimum of a 1000 aggregators. So when you multiply a thousand with at least, 200 out of the 217, you can see the number of jobs that have been lost through that.”
He also said that Nigeria has lost a lot of foreign direct investment.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria to immediately disclose whether it has commenced the direct disbursement of allocations to the 774 local government areas in Nigeria, following the Supreme Court’s landmark judgment nullifying state governors’ control over LGA funds.
In a letter dated 10 May 2025 obtained by our correspondent, addressed to the CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, and signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the group also demanded that the bank “widely publish the amounts, if any, so far sent directly to each of the local governments” and provide a detailed explanation of any payments already made—particularly to LGAs in Rivers State.
The group stated: “We are writing to request you to use your good offices and leadership position to immediately disclose whether the CBN has commenced the direct disbursement of allocations to the 774 local government councils in Nigeria from the Federation Accounts with the CBN, and to widely publish the amounts, if any, so far sent to each of the local governments.”
This request follows a Supreme Court judgment declaring the practice by governors and the FCT Minister of retaining and disbursing LGA allocations unconstitutional and unlawful.
The court ruled that no governor or agency has the authority to interfere with allocations meant for LGAs from the Federation Account.
Citing this judgment, SERAP argued: “Local government councils are entitled to a direct payment from the Federation Account of the amount standing to their credit in the said Federation Account. States should not be collecting, receiving, spending or tampering with the local government council funds from the Federation Account meant for the benefit of the councils.”
The advocacy group expressed concern that despite the ruling, many state governors have continued to “starve local governments of funds and put them in peril,” thereby undermining their autonomy and capacity to function as the third tier of government.
In the letter, the group warned that if the CBN fails to act within seven days, it would take legal action.
“If we have not heard from you by then, the Incorporated Trustees of SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the CBN to comply with our request in the public interest,” the letter stated.
SERAP referenced a past revelation by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who in December 2022 described how governors allegedly short-changed LGA chairmen.
“If the money from the Federation Account to the state is about N100 million, N50 million will be sent to the chairman, but he will sign that he received N100 million. The chairman will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to share it with,” Buhari had said.
The organisation argued that the CBN has a constitutional and statutory obligation to protect the financial interests of all tiers of government.
“The CBN ought to act in the public interest to protect the allocations in the Federation Account and the public funds disbursed from that Account directly to each of the constitutionally recognised three tiers of government,” it said.
Highlighting the March 2025 revenue distribution by the Federation Account Allocation Committee, SERAP noted that a total of N1.578 trillion was shared among the three tiers of government. It queried whether the LGAs had received their fair share directly, as mandated by the court ruling.
“Ensuring that all restrictions against direct disbursement of allocations from the Federation Account to the 774 councils are lifted will comply with the orders by the Supreme Court and stop states and the FCT from tampering with the allocations ahead of the 2027 general elections,” SERAP warned.
The group further argued that Nigerians have a legal and moral right to know how their money is being managed, referencing several legal frameworks, including the Nigerian Constitution, the Freedom of Information Act, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“The public interest in publishing the information sought outweighs any considerations to withhold the information. Nigerians are entitled to the right to receive information without any interference or distortion, and the enjoyment of this right should be based on the principle of maximum disclosure,” SERAP stated.
The group also reminded the CBN that “the Freedom of Information Act is applicable and applies to public records in the Federation, including those kept by the CBN.”
Bismarck Rewane, renowned economist and chief executive officer of the Financial Derivatives Company, has warned that the recent outbreak of the tomato leaf miner, commonly referred to as “Tomato Ebola,” is a disruption to Nigeria’s agriculture value chain.
Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives Company
Speaking on Channels Television’s Business Morning programme on Thursday, Rewane emphasised that the impact of the outbreak extends far beyond tomatoes, triggering a cost ripple effect across the broader food basket.
“The effect of an increase in the price of tomatoes leads to cost elasticity which means that the price of other substitutes will begin to increase, including the price of carrots, the price of tomato paste, price of tomato puree and other things.
“One for the reddening, two for the effect and the thickening on the sauce you’re making.
“However, because tomato is a perishable commodity, it also means that if there is tomato ebola, then the price has increased, and also the supply has reduced, it has a knock-on effect on so many other things,” Rewane explained.
He added that Nigeria’s lack of food storage and preventive mechanisms has worsened the crisis, causing severe supply chain disruptions.
Rewane’s comments come amid a sharp increase in the price of tomatoes, with a 50-kilogramme basket of the commodity which used to sell for N5,000, now selling for N10,000 to N30,000, thereby compounding food inflation and straining household budget.
The Federal Government said Nigeria has so far lost over N1.3 billion to the outbreak of the invasive pest in key tomato-producing states like Kano, Katsina, and Kaduna.
Abubakar Kyari, minister of Agriculture and Food Security, explained that the outbreak has significantly disrupted tomato supply chains, causing a surge in prices.
He noted that the outbreak of tomato Ebola highlights the fragile nature of Nigeria’s horticultural systems, and that the invasive pest can destroy tomato crops within 48 hours, resulting in catastrophic yield losses.
He added that this crisis highlights the urgent need for integrated pest management strategies, investment in resilient crop varieties, and enhanced support for farmers to safeguard the country’s food supply chains.
A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has adjourned the N12.3 billion loan controversy case involving the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko, and three others, to June 11, 2025.
Oba Otudeko,
Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke postponed the case to allow time for either a peaceful settlement or the formal arraignment of the suspects.
The decision followed reports that negotiation are still ongoing between the parties involved for out-of-court settlement as advised by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who is trying to mediate.
During Thursday’s hearing, Otudeko’s lawyer, Bode Olanipekun (SAN), told the court that negotiations for an out-of-court resolution were still in progress.
Similarly, the lawyer for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Bilikisu Buhari, acknowledged the discussions but asked the court to set a new date for arraignment in case the negotiations fail.
It will be recalled that at the last sitting of the court on March 17, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) had informed the judge that a meeting involving all counsel had been convened at the instance of the Attorney General of the Federation.
He said that this was aimed at reaching a peaceful settlement of the case.
Olanipekun had also stated that substantial progress was made, and the AGF directed all parties to refrain from actions that could jeopardize the resolution process, including filing further applications.
The court will reconvene on June 11 to hear the outcome of the settlement talks or proceed with the arraignment if no agreement is reached.
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