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…No we’re not owing govt –banks
A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday, ordered seven local banks to transfer a combined $793 million to the government Treasury Single Account (TSA) without delay following a petition by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) that they withheld monies collected on behalf of the Federal Government.
The banks affected are United Bank for Africa (UBA), Diamond Bank, Skye Bank, First Bank, Fidelity Bank, Keystone Bank and Sterling Bank.
According to the government attorney, UBA was estimated to have withheld $367.4 million due to three government agencies, Diamond Bank held back $277.9 million and Skye Bank kept back $41 million. First Bank owes the government $18.9 million, Fidelity Bank $24.5 million and Sterling Bank $46.5 million.
But in his response, a UBA spokesman said it has remitted all funds due to the government, while Fidelity Bank said it did not owe the government the $24.5 million ascribed to it, and has contacted the government’s accountant to clarify which account the government was referring to.
Fidelity Bank in a statement denied it concealed any government money.
“Our attention has been drawn to media reports stating that Fidelity Bank illegally concealed $24.5 million in contravention of the Federal Government’s TSA policy, citing court papers filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation at the Federal High Court in Lagos today. “Please note that at the commencement of the TSA policy, all TSA related accounts held by the bank were fully disclosed to the authorities. We do not have any TSA-related account with a balance of $24.5 million in Fidelity Bank, which has not been remitted to the authorities.
“This matter is coming to us as a surprise. We are therefore reaching out to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation to ascertain which account or parastatal they are referring to with a view to carrying out a detailed reconciliation,” the bank said in a statement signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Charles Aigbe.
Also reacting Sterling Bank Plc in a statement signed by Henry Bassey said it was surprised by the reports in certain online publications of an order by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Thursday 20th July 2017 mandating it to remit the sum of US$46.5 million to a designated Federal Government Asset Recovery Account with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The sum in question supposedly represents undisclosed qualifying funds under the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy illegally kept by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC).
“We wish to state unequivocally that Sterling Bank does not hold any sum in any currency as a deposit from either of these entities.” We have therefore written formally to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) demanding a clarification of this claim and a correction in the interest of the general public.
Commercial banks in Nigeria collect grants, taxes, fees and tariffs on behalf of the government which they send to a single treasury account with the central bank in line with a policy introduced in 2015 aimed at curbing corruption.
President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the merger of state accounts into a single treasury account at the central bank in 2015 to reduce graft and a practice whereby the government would borrow back its own funds from lenders, paying interest to them.
“The court sitting in Lagos granted an interim order, pending when the banks show cause why the monies should not be (remitted) to the government,” the government lawyer told Reuters by phone.
The banks must transfer the money to the government, and on August 8, the lenders will have to appear in court to explain why they had withheld the funds, the lawyer said. The government initiated the case at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the lawyer said.
Other lenders could not be reached immediately for comment.
