Gbajabiamila condemns corporate prostitution, Bank Marketing
Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has expressed concern about how banks manipulate female marketers and charge secret fees during transactions.
“I proposed a bill against corporate prostitution a few years ago, but it did not pass,” Mr Gbajabiamila said. We need to know what kind of advertisement is used. Is this a case of digital marketing? We must also set reasonable goals for the advertisers.
“We have a duty to protect Nigerians while also ensuring that your company does not die, so it is a delicate situation.”
“One of the issues at stake is the rate at which banks charge customers,” the lawmaker said, referring to the issue of hidden bank charges. There have been allegations that banks have hidden fees.
“This has come up on the House floor a number of times, and it is something we can look into.”
On Monday in Abuja, Mr Gbajabiamila hosted the Standard Chartered Bank’s Board of Directors and Management, headed by Chief Executive Officer Lamin Manjang.
The speaker said apart from charges known to the customers, there appeared to be other hidden charges that the banks imposed on their customers.
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He stated that the House was concerned that such a practice was making customers helpless while calling on Nigerian banks to come up with ways to address high charges on loans and other facilities they offered.
Mr Gbajabiamila also expressed concern about the exploitative marketing some banks’ marketers are subjected to.
“You have corporations in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, what obtains here in terms of banking, in terms of marketing.
“Sending people to go and knock at people’s offices and all that; does it obtain in those places?” he asked.
The CEO of the bank, responding to the allegation of exploitative marketing, said banks could market their products to the customers but it had to be ethical.
“It’s not peculiar to Nigeria, but it has to be ethical. Teams usually go round, but ethical conduct has to be there.
“You need to have marketing for people to know what you offer. If there are any abuses or conducts that are not ideal, they should be called out and addressed,” he added.
