Fresh facts have emerged on Unity Bank N7billion scandal as the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property on Tuesday, May 21st, 2019 faulted the denial by the bank of the alleged N7billion indebtedness to some ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
The panel in a statement by its Head, Media & Communication¸ Lucie-Ann Laha, renewed its threat to “visit full force of the law upon the bank” if it failed to desist from its denial.
Faulting the bank’s claim, the panel, in its statement on Tuesday presented what it referred to as “the handwritten resolution reached at the reconciliation meeting, duly signed by representatives of the panel and the bank.”
“The attention of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has been drawn to the statement by Unity Bank refuting the Panel‘s assertion that the bank is to refund over N7bn to the Federation Account in respect of excess and arbitrary charges on Federal Government accounts that were domiciled therein before the advent of TSA.”
“Below is the handwritten resolution reached at the reconciliation meeting, duly signed by representatives of the panel and the bank. Unity Bank will do well to desist from its denial and honour its agreement, pay its debts to the Federal Government; otherwise, the panel will be constrained to visit the full force of the law upon the bank.”
It is interesting to know that the SPIPRPP, led by Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, had on Monday, May 20th, 2019 said it might charge the bank with economic sabotage should it continue to fail to remit the money to the Federal Government’s Treasury Single Account.
In a statement by Laha, the SPIPRPP, said the N7bn “represents the sum of $15,561,769.99 and N1,488,455,810.90), being excess and arbitrary charges on accounts of some agencies of government by the bank before the institution of Treasury Single Account.”
The statement said the agencies from whose accounts the “excess and arbitrary charges” had been deducted by the bank were the Nigerian Ports Authority, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Nigeria Customs Service, the Kaduna Refinery and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.
It stated that the bank had agreed on the amount earlier in February, this year but “has neither proffered a payment plan nor demonstrated good faith by actually initiating payments.”
The bank, through its Head, Corporate Communications, Mr Matthew Obiazikwor, denied any indebtedness to MDAs or any agreement to return money to the TSA.
“The bank therefore maintains that the allegations of the SPIPRPP are superfluous, frivolous, ill-motivated and unfounded, as falsely presented in a press statement purportedly sent to the public.”