Former Aviation Minister Chief Osita Chidoka visited Sterling Bank’s Abuja headquarters on Friday to open a personal account, following the bank’s recent elimination of charges on local online transfers.
The visit came after Chidoka’s social media statement earlier in the week, where he indicated his support for the bank’s decision to remove transfer fees while other major banks have maintained them.
“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.”
Sterling Bank announced on April 1st that it would eliminate all local transfer charges on its OneBank platform. Many initially questioned if this was an April Fools’ prank, but the bank confirmed the policy was genuine and effective immediately.
During his visit, Chidoka described the bank’s decision as addressing what he sees as unnecessary fees in Nigeria’s banking system. He noted that Nigerian banks charge between ten to fifty naira per transfer while reporting substantial profits.

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“They didn’t wait for the law,” he remarked. “They led by conscience.”
Chidoka drew parallels to the telecommunications industry’s shift to per-second billing, suggesting this could prompt similar changes in banking practices. He pointed out that “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.”
The former minister argued that digital transactions should not carry additional fees, stating that these charges divert money from essentials like food, education, and business investments.
“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.”