Chief govt officers of business banks have been directed to seem in individual earlier than an investigative panel of the Home of Representatives over alleged unlawful and unexplained deductions from prospects’ bank accounts.
The summons was issued on Tuesday in Abuja by the Home Advert-hoc Committee investigating the deduction of taxes from civil and public servants’ earnings and bank costs on prospects’ accounts.
Industrial banks deduct varied costs from prospects’ accounts, together with SMS costs, Upkeep costs, and switch costs, amongst others.
Banks accused of perpetrating illegality
Talking throughout the panel session, Committee Chairman, Rep. Kelechi Nwogu, accused business banks of partaking in systematic and illegal deductions, together with costs which are neither clear nor remitted to the applicable authorities.
“Industrial banks are perpetrating illegality by deducting inexplicable costs from civil servants, public servants and different prospects’ bank accounts with out remittances,” Nwogu stated.
- He famous that banks routinely deduct a spread of costs comparable to SMS alerts, account upkeep charges, and switch costs, elevating issues over the legality, transparency, and utilisation of such funds.
- Reiterating the committee’s mandate, Nwogu stated the investigation would be sure that all deductions imposed by banks are correctly authorised, accurately computed, and appropriately utilised.
“Our mandate is obvious. All deductions or costs have to be deducted rightly, fined rightly, and used rightly,” he stated.
He additionally disclosed that the committee had prolonged invites to the Ministry of Finance and would work carefully with the Workplace of the Accountant-Normal of the Federation, the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC), and business banks working in Nigeria to make sure a radical probe.
CEOs should seem; no proxies allowed
The committee chairman firmly rejected any try by banks to ship representatives as a substitute of their chief executives, stressing that the CEOs themselves should seem unfailingly earlier than the panel.
“You can not seem right here with out an identification. We aren’t right here on our personal. We’re right here on the mandate of the folks that elected us into parliament,” Nwogu stated.
He added: “We have now resolved to fulfill subsequent week Wednesday. It’s essential to submit all requested paperwork on or earlier than Monday. We are going to undergo all of the paperwork and we are going to put you on oath.”
4-day ultimatum to submit paperwork
The committee issued a four-day ultimatum to all banks concerned to submit the related paperwork required for the investigation.
Based on Nwogu, any bank that fails to adjust to the directive by Monday will face sanctions.
The Home panel, he stated, is set to depart no stone unturned in uncovering the explanations behind what it described as spurious and unjustified deductions from prospects’ accounts.
What it’s best to know
In accordance to a latest Enterprise Expectations Survey Report launched by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), extreme bank costs, a number of taxes, and insufficient infrastructure ranked as the highest constraints in September 2025.
- The survey revealed that respondents recognized Excessive Bank Expenses (70.8), Excessive/A number of Taxes (70.8), and Poor Infrastructure (70.7) because the three most urgent challenges hindering enterprise operations throughout the nation.
- Regardless of these challenges, the report confirmed a modest stage of optimism amongst companies.
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