Good morning House.

I would like to open a bank account in 9ja and having tried all the banks (well, most of the well known banks), it appears i cant. I have been told i have to be in nigeria to be able to open a bank account. Is this true? Can any of our banker subscribers/users shed some light on this.
I have been a non resident for about 9years. i used to have an account with STB but they have since been swallowed up by UBA.

Contact UBA and tell them you have an account with STB. The account should still be existing but must have become dormant since you have not operated it for a long time. They will reactivate it for you and that's it. Meanwhile, you can open a bank account in Naija without being physically present. First, you must let the bank officer know that you are not in the country and would like to open an account with them. Depending on your relationship with the banker, they can give the necessary account opening forms to any of your relatives in Nigeria and your relative can then send you these forms for completion. After completing the forms you can send it back to your relative with the requested form of identification for onward submission to your contact in the bank for processing.

Thanks for your input. I dont remember my stb account and it was opened in my maiden name. I dont even have my passbook/withdrawal booklet anymore so i am unsure if they will believe me but i have some documents with my maiden name though

It is better for you to try opening a new bank account and your best bet will be to try one of the new generation banks. Good luck.