I got a mail from Access Bank, and they were warning me that they would close down my Group’s Account; that is, if I didn't comply with the new CBN Directive...

Dear Customer, In line with CBN's directive on your Community Savings Account, please submit your registration documents before July 12, 2022 to avoid service disruption. For more info visit https://www.accessbankplc.com/AccessBankGroup/media/Documents/COMMUNITY-ACCOUNT-FAQs.pdf

Honestly, I really don't know about the CBN Directive prior to this moment, and the deadline had already passed.
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After studying the motive behind such directive, I came to understand that this is a measure to force people to register their groups with the Corporate Affairs Commission, (As Non-Profit Organisations), in order for the government to get more revenue from such registrations.
Such organisations won't be paying taxes quite alright, since they are Non-Profit Organisations, but the Registration Fees they would pay will definitely yield some more money for the Government.
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This is an additional method of milking the people.
The existing chargers are already too much..
And then, they are here with this one again.
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Now, we are left to continue to ask the all-in-one most-important Question...
WHERE IS THE LEGISLATURE AND THE JUDICIARY WHEN YOU NEED THEM SO MUCH.??
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IN ORDER TO EFFECT AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION, SOME PEOPLE ARE ALREADY EMPTYING THEIR GROUP ACCOUNTS...

“....If you are a signatory to a group account that is not registered with the CAC, run like mad and transfer those money out of there, into a private account.

It's been unarguably confirmed that the CBN is wiping all group accounts that is not registered with the CAC...”

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TYPES OF ACCOUNTS THAT ARE AFFECTED

Associations,
Clubs,
Town Unions,
Age-Grades,
Foundations,
and/or Church accounts....
(Are Joint Accounts between 2-to-5 persons also affected?? --->> I am yet to find out)

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.

As sent to me by ACCESS BANK...

COMMUNITY BASIC ACCOUNT

Q1) I got a mail about closure of my account for lack of CAC registration; can you explain what that is?
The Central Bank of Nigeria has mandated us to close all Community Basic accounts of associations that have not been registered with CAC or Local Government by July 12, 2022. We do not want your account to be affected by this, hence the mail to prompt you on the urgency.

Q2) Is this mandate on just Community Basic accounts?
Yes, it is.

Q3) Can my association be migrated to another account?
At this moment, it cannot. The registration of your association is precedent to any further action that would be taken on the account.

Q4) How can we register our association in such a short time?
We understand that this can be challenging and are here to help you fast track the process. We have partnering lawyers to facilitate the relevant statutory incorporation/registration.

Q5) What happens if we are unable to register our association before the deadline?
Unfortunately, the account will be closed, hence the communication; so we can help you through the process of regularization to ensure your account is not closed.

Q6) Do you know how we can go about the registration?
If you would like to employ the services of one of our consultants, we could help you get in touch with them.

Q7) In the event of account closure, how do I get back my money?
We are hopeful that we can work together to ensure that your association is registered before the deadline and be rest assured that your money is always safe with the bank.

Q8) Are there helplines for registration if customers are finding it difficult?
Customers are free to contact our partnering solicitors directly on <<[email address]>> via email, OR WhatsApp <<[phone-number]>> and they will be happy to assist. Kindly note that all interactions will be governed by their terms and conditions without recourse to the bank.

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You see that Question-7 above,, the response they gave to it is not satisfactory at-all..

Na waa oooo..
Wahalla Dey Ooo

I heard this information just last Sunday when the deadline has passed.

Fortunately for my group we have just small amount of money left in our account. Who says God is not faithful.

Very wicked government. This is a way of milking Nigerians of their money.

You put money for bank trouble and when you decide to keep it in your house na bigger trouble.
Which way Nigeria

It's proper for such bodies to be registered.
It's normal and the right move by govt.

fullnetwork:
It's proper for such bodies to be registered.
It's normal and the right move by govt.

A group of people that came together online to open an account for the sole purpose of collecting ISUSSU amongst themselves..
They have their meetings online, and they have a valid constitution guiding them and their collections, and they have their Register too; but they don't have anything to do with the Government..,, because they just opened the account for their money-collecting purposes..
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Where are they supposed to register??
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At the CAC.?? Or Local Government??
If they should register at a Local Government, then, which one Exactly?? Since they are an association that exists ONLINE, and they have members scattered across various locations.

Lalasticlala, Seun

I don't see anything bad in u registering this organisation and I feel u are making this matter look as if u are the only one.

What if govt decides to proscribe this your organisation for not being properly registered,what would u do?

Let us do the proper thing and stop escalating unnecessary tensions.

I expected u to say that u don't know anything about registrations but it is required by law to do what is absolutely needful so as to protect your organisation and idea behind it.

Let us try and always obey the laws of our land.

May God bless us as we do so.

ibechris:
I don't see anything bad in u registering this organisation and I feel u are making this matter look as if u are the only one.

What if govt decides to proscribe this your organisation for not being properly registered,what would u do?

Let us do the proper thing and stop escalating unnecessary tensions.

I expected u to say that u don't know anything about registrations but it is required by law to do what is absolutely needful so as to protect your organisation and idea behind it.

Let us try and always obey the laws of our land.

May God bless us as we do so.

Is it the CAC Establishment Act?? or what??
Which Law exactly.??
Please educate me.
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Which law requires us to register our small groups and associations with the Government??
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Some of the policies and directives which the Government institutions and agencies are churning out are actually against the laws of our land.
That such directives and policies came from the government doesn't make them laws.
It is best described as intimidation.
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Cc..
Fergie001
Please, is there any law as such that backed the recent CBN Excesses??

[quote author=BluntCrazeMan post=114967766] Is it the CAC Establishment Act?? or what??
Which Law exactly.??
Please educate me.
..
Which law requires us to register our small groups and associations with the Government??
..
Some of the policies and directives which the Government institutions and agencies are churning out are actually against the laws of our land.
That such directives and policies came from the government doesn't make them laws.
It is best described as intimidation.
..
Cc..
Fergie001
Please, is there any law as such that backed the recent CBN


Funny as it may be,u actually don't see this as a business but it is,yes because u feel it was done in your community,therefore u don't need to register it.

Below picture will certainly help u solve this puzzle.

BluntCrazeMan:
A group of people that came together online to open an account for the sole purpose of collecting ISUSSU amongst themselves..
They have their meetings online, and they have a valid constitution guiding them and their collections, and they have their Register too; but they don't have anything to do with the Government..,, because they just opened the account for their money-collecting purposes..
..
Where are they supposed to register??
..
At the CAC.?? Or Local Government??
If they should register at a Local Government, then, which one Exactly?? Since they are an association that exists ONLINE, and they have members scattered across various locations.

Ok.
So, how did you open an account? Online? CAC reg can be done online too.
The point is, for operating an account that is not an individual account, it has to be registered. Profit making or not.
It is either you find a way to circulate the mandate card on the account opening form for all to fill then open a joint account or get it registered.

fullnetwork:

Ok.
So, how did you open an account? Online? CAC reg can be done online too.
The point is, for operating an account that is not an individual account, it has to be registered. Profit making or not.
It is either you find a way to circulate the mandate card on the account opening form for all to fill then open a joint account or get it registered.

We are an informal group that needed a bank account..
We decided not to be paying the money into any of our accounts., Just for transparency purposes..
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We went to the bank, they requested for our constitution and our Register..
We drafted one and gave them.
We got the account opened.
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Now, to register an informal “Funds-Contribution” group with the Government??
Like,, we are not even doing anything else as a group, other than to be gathering money in the account,, and then share it at the end of the year.
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What is the need for registering the group with the Government??

ibechris:
..

We are an informal group that needed a bank account..
WE ARE NOT A BUSINESS..!!
We decided not to be paying the money into any of our accounts., Just for transparency purposes..
..
We went to the bank, they requested for our constitution and our Register..
We drafted one and gave them.
We got the account opened.
..
Now, to register an informal “Funds-Contribution” group with the Government??
Like,, we are not even doing anything else as a group, other than to be gathering money in the account,, and then share it at the end of the year.
..
What is the need for registering the group with the Government??

BluntCrazeMan:
We are an informal group that needed a bank account..
WE ARE NOT A BUSINESS..!!
We decided not to be paying the money into any of our accounts., Just for transparency purposes..
..
We went to the bank, they requested for our constitution and our Register..
We drafted one and gave them.
We got the account opened.
..
Now, to register an informal “Funds-Contribution” group with the Government??
Like,, we are not even doing anything else as a group, other than to be gathering money in the account,, and then share it at the end of the year.
..
What is the need for registering the group with the Government??

All these arguments does not solve this issue in question. The banks sees this as a business hence their decision for u guys to get a CAC registration to authenticate the accounts.

That is NDIC requirements whether u like it or not.
To avoid the long talk,u can as well deactivate the account put the money in a security save and that would put a stop to the glitch here.

ibechris:



All these arguments does not solve this issue in question. The banks sees this as a business hence their decision for u guys to get a CAC registration to authenticate the accounts.

That is NDIC requirements whether u like it or not.
To avoid the long talk,u can as well deactivate the account put the money in a security save and that would put a stop to the glitch here.

WE DID JUST THAT

BluntCrazeMan:
We are an informal group that needed a bank account..
We decided not to be paying the money into any of our accounts., Just for transparency purposes..
..
We went to the bank, they requested for our constitution and our Register..
We drafted one and gave them.
We got the account opened.
..
Now, to register an informal “Funds-Contribution” group with the Government??
Like,, we are not even doing anything else as a group, other than to be gathering money in the account,, and then share it at the end of the year.
..
What is the need for registering the group with the Government??

I don't understand why it is difficult for us in Nigeria to do the minimum required.
Why did you draft a constitution if all you do is pull monies together and share at the end of the year?
I'm not holding brief for FGN, but it's either your union is a legal entity or you guy operate as individuals (joint account).
Don't sweat it. The complain will only make your BP raise some more.

fullnetwork:

I don't understand why it is difficult for us in Nigeria to do the minimum required.
Why did you draft a constitution if all you do is pull monies together and share at the end of the year?
I'm not holding brief for FGN, but it's either your union is a legal entity or you guy operate as individuals (joint account).
Don't sweat it. The complain will only make your BP raise some more.

We cannot operate as a joint account, because the Account doesn't bear our personal names..
It was bearing the name of our group.
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Well..
It means that every group that desires to have a bank account in the name of the group now must first be registered by the government.
...
Yess.
It was not like that before..
But this is how it is now..
..
I garrit now..
Ok naa

Government is trying best to curb money laundering through those methods of group savings

BluntCrazeMan:
We cannot operate as a joint account, because the Account doesn't bear our personal names..
It was bearing the name of our group.
..
..
Well..
It means that every group that desires to have a bank account in the name of the group now must first be registered by the government.
...
Yess.
It was not like that before..
But this is how it is now..
..
I garrit now..
Ok naa

*CBN Directive: Banks Begin Closure Of Accounts Of Unregistered Associations And Societies*

_It further directed any Association, Club, Town Union, Age Grade, Foundation, or Church account affected to register with Corporate Affairs Commissions and get a Corporate Affairs Commissions (CAC) Certificate which will enable them run their bank account freely without hindrance._
https://thenigerialawyer.com/cbn-directive-banks-begin-closure-of-accounts-of-unregistered-associations-and-societies/

How come it's only Access Bank that is circulating this directive?