The House of Representatives on Tuesday gave Chief Executive Officers of commercial banks operating in Nigeria a five-day ultimatum to submit all requested documents regarding illegal taxes and other charges deducted from civil servants and other customers.
The directive was issued by Hon. Kelechi Nwogu, Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee investigating deductions from civil and public servants’ earnings and multiple bank charges on customer accounts, during a resumed hearing in Abuja.
He stressed the need for the physical presence of all accounting officers of the financial institutions. During the hearing, Hon. Nwogu walked out representatives from GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and other commercial banks who arrived without appropriate authorization letters.
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The committee has also extended invitations to the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and all commercial banks operating in Nigeria.
Lawmakers including Hon. Chidi Mark Obeta and Hon. Dominic Okafor accused the banks of illegally deducting unexplained charges from the accounts of civil servants, public servants, and other customers without proper remittance.
Hon. Nwogu warned that the committee will review all submitted documents under oath and take action against any bank that fails to meet the Monday deadline. He emphasized that the panel is determined to uncover why banks continue to make unauthorized deductions from millions of customer accounts.