'Two heads are better than one', so the age-long axiom goes. This saying is usually meant to denote that the coming together of two or more persons or organisations in partnership over a particular venture produce better results than when the venture is managed by only an individual or organisation. The story seems to be the other way round for Ecobank as its merger with the defunct Oceanic bank is far from being the case.

When the present Ecobank emerged from the merger with Oceanic Bank, customers of the new bank looked forward to enjoying better banking services. However, it seems that the hope of customers of the new Ecobank to enjoy a good banking service delivery is gradually being dashed. The situation seems to be getting out of hand in Ecobank branches in Ilorin in Kwara State. The branches are those in Ibrahim Taiwo Road and Challenge, close to Unity roundabout in Ilorin.

A visit to any of these branches would reveal the decline that has visited the standards of their banking practice.

The norm in those branches is for customers to come into the banking hall and wait endlessly to be attended to. It takes an average of two to three hours to get the simplest transaction done in any of these branches; it is unthinkable for a customer to believe that he can quickly make a transaction before, for example, proceeding to work in the morning. The worst part is that their banking hall are not equipped with enough seats, people are left to wait endlessly on static queues for services that are not forthcoming.

The practice is for a sum of N100 to be charged on a customer's account when an amount below N40,000 is withdrawn across the counter. While one may not fault this practice as it is geared towards decongesting the banking hall, at the same time, one would expect that adequate provisions to ensure that customers access the services of the bank without having to visit the counter are made. Unfortunately, this is not the case, ATM cards are not issued to time when applied for and still, amounts are deducted for withdrawals made across the counter, it is like customers are made to pay for the ineptitude of the bank itself.

The aim of this piece is to urge the authorities of Ecobank both within and outside Ilorin to find an urgent solution to the situation. It is suggested that more hands should be injected into the system; it appears that the bank is finding it difficult to cope with the vast customer base that its merger with Oceanic bank has provided it. Ecobank should employ more workers.

Vincent Adodo, Esq., Ilorin.