Former Minister storms Sterling Bank to open account in support of zero transfer fees

What began as a tweet has become a tipping point. In a moment that is quickly being hailed as the dawn of a new era in Nigerian banking, former Minister for Aviation, Osita Chidoka, walked into the Regional Headquarters of Sterling Bank in Abuja on Friday, where he opened a personal bank account as a show of solidarity with the bank’s groundbreaking decision to eliminate all charges on local online transfers.

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This symbolic act followed Mr Chidoka’s viral declaration earlier in the week, where he pledged to reward the bank for removing transfer charges, which other major banks have refused to do. The move comes on the heels of Sterling Bank’s historic decision to eliminate all local transfer charges on its OneBank platform, making it the first major financial institution in Nigeria to end what many see as a quiet but costly practice. At first, the 1st April announcement was met with disbelief.

Many Nigerians assumed the news was part of an elaborate marketing gimmick. However, Sterling swiftly clarified that the zero- transfer-fee policy was a genuine effort to ease the financial burden on its customers and would take effect immediately. In choosing to forgo billions in potential revenue, the bank delivered a powerful message: profit should never come at the expense of the people.

Mr Chidoka, who had long advocated for the removal of transfer charges, declared his support for the bank’s decision on social media. “Sterling Bank did the math – and still chose the people,” he wrote in a now-viral post. “They gave up over billions in transfer charges just to give Nigerians breathing room.”

True to his word, he made his support physical by visiting the Sterling Bank branch and opening an account in what he described as a “statement of values” and a personal protest on behalf of the average Nigerian. His visit electrified the banking hall and further set social media abuzz, marking a clarion call to millions of Nigerians who are weary of additional charges.

According to Mr Chidoka, his decision to open an account at Sterling Bank was both an act of protest and a powerful statement of values – a stand for fairness, transparency, and customer-first innovation in the Nigerian financial system. Speaking during the visit, Mr Chidoka commended the bank’s courage and foresight, describing the initiative as a long-overdue intervention in a financial system that has normalized the quiet extraction of wealth from ordinary citizens.

He emphasised that Nigerian banks report record profits year after year, and yet continue to charge customers between ten to fifty naira per transfer – millions of times over, despite the minimal actual cost of executing these transactions in a digitized ecosystem. He went on to say that Sterling Bank had done what others refused to: walk away from over billions of naira in annual transfer revenue, simply to ease the burden on its customers.

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The former minister described this as an extraordinary example of ethical banking and challenged other financial institutions to follow suit, insisting that Nigerians deserve better. Referencing his longstanding campaign against banking fees, Mr Chidoka recalled his public appeals in 2023 to outlaw transfer charges as part of broader efforts to ease the cost of living.

Those calls, he said, fell on deaf ears. Yet Sterling Bank, without regulatory pressure, took decisive action. “They didn’t wait for the law,” he remarked. “They led by conscience.”

Drawing a comparison with the telecommunications sector’s transition to per-second billing, a move once considered economically suicidal until it transformed the industry, Mr Chidoka asserted that Sterling’s decision could catalyze a similar evolution in Nigerian banking.

“Just as per-second billing empowered millions, free transfers will do the same. If the top four banks in Nigeria earned a combined ₦186 billion from transfer charges last year, despite already posting record profits, then they cannot claim that removing those fees would break them,” he said.

He stressed that money should move freely in a digital economy, and that every naira lost to unnecessary charges is a naira taken from food, school fees, or small business capital. “Banks bear these costs in some parts of the world. It is time Nigerian banks did the same.”

As Mr Chidoka concluded his visit, he left behind more than a newly opened bank account; he left behind a spark. A spark that could ignite a nationwide movement. “We need to start voting with our wallets,” he said. “Let us support institutions that prioritise our welfare, and reject those that profit by exploiting us. If we want better banking, we must reward better banks.”

Sterling Bank’s decision has already begun to shift public sentiment, with growing calls for Nigerians to make Friday #OpenSterlingAcctDay – a symbolic rebellion against bank charges and a show of support for a better, fairer way to bank. As other prominent Nigerians express interest in following this example, the pressure is mounting on traditional banks to reconsider their position and return power to the people.

In a time when the cost of living continues to rise and public trust in institutions is waning, Sterling Bank’s move has sparked hope and opened a conversation. If other banks follow suit, Nigerians may finally see the end of what Chidoka calls “digital oppression.” If they don’t, Nigerians now have a choice and a bank that chose them first.