The Central Bank of Nigeria has extended the Bank Verification Number registration exercise for Nigerians abroad from January 31 to June 30, 2016.

The CBN, in a circular on Thursday, said the extension would allow Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora to obtain their BVN and link it with their respective bank accounts.

The circular, signed by the Director, Banking and Payments System, CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun, stated that the CBN had also increased the number of BVN registration centres overseas to allow more bank customers to register.

The circular read, “The CBN has observed, through a recent survey, the low percentage of registration of Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora, which may be attributed to lack of accessibility to registration centres and unavailability of registration centres in some cities where Nigerian population is high.

“Consequently, all the Deposit Money Banks are hereby requested to note that the BVN enrolment for Nigerian bank customers in the Diaspora is hereby extended to June 30, 2016. This is to enable such customers to complete the enrolment and link the BVN with their bank accounts.”

The CBN further said plans were on to deploy more BVN registration centres in locations with high Nigerian population.

The central bank had in October last year closed the BVN registration process within the country and directed banks to stop customers without the numbers from carrying out transactions on their accounts.

It said only customers who obtained and registered their BVNs should be granted access to their accounts.

onshore installation with minor injuries.

The firm said it had also established a dedicated telephone hotline for family members of those on board the flight.