Reps accuse Nigerian banks of illegal deductions, summon CEOs for probe

Lawmakers issue four-day deadline for submission of documents

The House of Representatives on Tuesday accused several Nigerian commercial banks of making unexplained deductions from customers’ accounts and failing to remit certain charges as required by law.

Kelechi Nwogu, chairman of the House Ad Hoc Committee investigating tax deductions from civil and public servants’ earnings and other bank charges, made the accusation during an investigative hearing in Abuja. He said the panel’s mandate is to verify that all deductions on customer accounts are “correctly deducted, correctly levied, and correctly used.”

According to him, the committee has received reports suggesting that banks have been applying charges “without remittances,” affecting civil servants, public workers, and other customers. He added that the panel had invited the Ministry of Finance and was working with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the EFCC, and all commercial banks operating in the country.

Mr Nwogu also rejected the appearance of representatives sent by the CEOs of GTBank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and others, insisting that the bank heads must appear in person. “You cannot appear here without an identity. We are here on the mandate of the people who elected us,” he told the delegates.

He announced that the panel will reconvene next Wednesday and directed all banks involved to submit all requested documents on or before Monday. He warned that any bank that fails to meet the deadline will face sanctions.

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The committee also issued a four-day ultimatum to the banks to comply, noting that it intends to “leave no stone unturned” in uncovering why commercial banks have been making what it described as spurious deductions from customers’ accounts.