Customers may boycott Access Bank over poor services, says Ogunbunka

Access Bank, one of Nigeria’s commercial banks, could face a large loss of customers due to poor handling of its loan services, said Dr. Uju Ogunbunka, president of the Bank Customers’ Association of Nigeria.

Ogunbunka made the comments in a weekend interview with DAILY POST.

The remarks followed a dispute involving Access Bank and a customer, Lydia Okodogbe, who contested an N18.81 million loan taken in November 2022 that was valued at N26.3 million over a 36‑month repayment period.

Okodogbe claims that since 2023 she has repeatedly asked the bank for her statement of account, but Access Bank has not provided it. She alleges that the bank’s refusal has raised suspicions of misconduct. Okodogbe also said she noticed a new loan entry of about N2.5 million that she had not applied for.

She said the bank’s actions have crippled her business, resulting in the loss of at least 400 jobs.

“My business suffered significantly. At our peak, we employed about 400 people, many of whom have now lost their jobs because operations became unsustainable,” she said.

Okodogbe has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, the regulator of the country’s banking sector, to intervene.

Responding, Ogunbunka said Access Bank had no justification for withholding customers’ bank statements. He warned that the bank’s poor service could lead to a mass exodus of customers if the issue is not resolved.

“The customer is not asking for anything that should be too difficult for the bank to provide. The request for statements of account is within the right of the customer. The bank should avail the statements to her,” he said. “The bank has no reason not to give her a bank statement upon her request if they have nothing to hide. Access Bank should explain to her why they are not giving her a reply; they may face a mass exodus of customers following their ill treatment. No bank customers should be treated badly on whatsoever account,” he told the DAILY POST.

In a response to Okodogbe’s allegation, Access Bank, through its official, Hassan Dawodu, said the bank had taken steps to address technical issues affecting the customer’s account while continuing investigations into outstanding concerns.

The bank’s spokesperson, Olakunle Aderinokun, did not respond to a request from DAILY POST for an update on the matter at the time of filing this report.