Commercial Banks
The House of Representatives on Tuesday raised the alarm on how commercial banks illegally deduct questionable charges from customers without remittances to the federal government.
The House Ad-hoc Committee Chairman, investigating deduction of taxes from civil and public servants’ earnings and bank charges on customers account, Rep. Kelechi Nwogu, said this during an investigative panel in Abuja.
Nwogu reiterated the panel’s mandate to ensure that all deductions or charges by banks on accounts of customers must be deducted rightly and used rightly.
“Commercial banks are perpetrating illegality by deducting inexplicable charges from civil servants, public servants and other customers bank accounts without remittances,” he said.
The Ad-hoc Committee chairman who affirmed their commitment to protecting Nigerians from illegal charges, said the House Committee had extended an invitation to the Ministry of Finance.
He also said that they would partner with the Office of the Accountant General of the federation and the EFCC and commercial banks operating in Nigeria on the investigation.
The House Committee Chairman, who rejected representation of the CEOs of GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank and others, insisted that the CEOs must appear before the panel unfailingly.
He said: “You cannot appear here without an identity. We are not here on our own. We are here on the mandate of the people that elected us into parliament.
“We have resolved to meet next week Wednesday. You must submit all requested documents on or before Monday.
“We will go through all the documents and we will put you on oath”.
The Committee, however, gave a four- day ultimatum for all the banks involved to submit all the required documents necessary for the probe.
According to the House Committee Chairman, they have given a deadline that any bank that fails to submit the requested documents on Monday will be sanctioned.
Nwogu said that the House panel was not leaving any stone unturned to unravel why the commercial banks engaged in spurious deduction of charges on their customers’ account. (NAN)
