October 2, 2003, Bright Ewulu, Lagos

Director-General of National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Dora Akunyili has said that Nigerians domiciled abroad remit back home yearly about US$3 billion through informal means.

According to her, this is because for the last five years, Nigeria has been witnessing an average net migration of 35 persons, adding that these informal means of remitting money is definitely of a larger volume with all its attendant risks.

Akunyili, who was speaking on the official launching of Western Union Money Transfer service by Standard Trust Bank Plc (STB), said, that more formal means of transfer is needed to enable Nigerians abroad to reach their families and friends more efficiently.

She said millions of people trust Western Union send money home to friends and families even if they are thousands of miles away for obvious reasons, "safety and reliabilities."

STB's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tony Emulelu in his contribution promised that the bank will live up to the expectation of western union money transfer service customers in Nigeria and outside the country.

According to him, "the partnership between WUMT and Standard Trust Bank is a logical convergence of invests between global leaders in money transfer service with an unbeatable reputation for reliability and high customer appeal; and a dominant retail bank, with the largest on line real time network in sub-saharan Africa whose impact on the Nigerian banking scene can only be described in superlative.

"For us therefore, it is a natural partnership that will enable our organisations leverage our respective strengths and competencies to push the WUMT service far beyond the existing levels to our mutual benefit," he said.

He thanked Western Union for the confidence reposed in his bank and stressed that STB will deploy its IT infrastructure to ensure that the positive features of security and reliability of WUMT products is implemented effectively. He expressed the hope that the bank's over 86 business offices and its alliances with key financial institutions will enable the partnership to last into the far future.

It would be recalled that western union recently expended its direct agents in Nigeria by opportunity STB and Ocean Bank to join first Bank of Nigeria Plc in providing this service in Nigeria.