House Committee Orders Banks to Submit All Requested Deduction Documents Within 4 Days

Commercial banks operating in Nigeria have been given four days to submit all requested documentation regarding their charges by an Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives that is looking into the deduction of taxes and other charges from the earnings of civil and public servants as well as multiple bank charges on customer accounts in Nigeria.

Additionally, the House probe panel rejected the representation of any bank CEO without a properly signed authorization letter to the panel and demanded that the CEOs of major financial organizations attend at the investigative session.

In a statement made at the start of the House panel session on Tuesday in Abuja, House Committee Chairman Hon. Kelechi Nwogu stated that the House investigative panel’s mandate is to make sure that all bank deductions of charges on customers’ accounts are appropriately used and fined.

He added that the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and Nigerian commercial banks were invited to participate in the probe by the House Committee.

During the probe, members of the House Committee claimed that commercial banks were illegally taking money out of the bank accounts of public employees, civil officials, and other clients without providing remittances.

The chairman of the House Committee and a few members who objected to the CEOs of GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and other commercial banks being represented cannot hold water because they maintained that they must consistently appear before the panel.

“You cannot appear here without an identity,” he declared. We are not alone here. The people who elected us to parliament have given us this mandate.

“We have decided to meet on Wednesday of next week. All required paperwork must be sent in by Monday at the latest.

“After reviewing all the paperwork, we’ll put you under oath.”

If we ask you back and you tell us the same story, it won’t be good. Any bank that does not submit the required documentation by Monday will be sanctioned, as per our deadline.

According to the House Committee Chairman, every effort is being made by the House panel to determine the reason behind the commercial banks’ fraudulent charges on their clients’ accounts.

During the hearing, several panelists, including Hon. Chidi Mark Obeta and Hon. Engr. Dominic Okafor, spoke in favor of the requirement that bank CEOs consistently appear before the panel.