In what appeared to be a final warning addressed to the bankers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) gave the top bankers till the ending of June 2021 to comply, even as the initial deadline of Monday, June 14, has passed.

“The truth is that this law has been in place for over 35 years, but it was hardly ever enforced and so these bankers would just declare anything or not declare at all. However, the EFCC is now demanding the declaration forms as part of moves to sanitise the system.

“To this effect, the chairman has written a reminder to the banks, asking all top executives to comply latest by the end of June,” an investigator who spoke on the matter was quoted as saying.

What you should know

According to the Bank Employees, ETC (Declaration of Assets) Act 1986, bankers should declare their assets through the appropriate authority like the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. But the forms were hardly ever scrutinised, a trend which the EFCC seeks to change.

Section 1 of the Act states, “Every employee of a bank shall, within fourteen days of the commencement of this Act, make a full disclosure of all his assets.

“In the case of a new employee, he shall within 14 days of assuming duty with the bank make a full disclosure of all his assets at the time of his assuming duty; and for the purpose of this subsection, a transfer or secondment from one bank to another shall be treated as a new employment.”

Section 2 of the Act reads, “The full disclosure of assets required under Section 1 of this Act shall be made in the manner prescribed in the Declaration of Assets Form contained in Form A of the Schedule to this Act and shall be executed before and attested to by the Registrar of a High Court, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court.

“The President or the appropriate authority may from time to time prescribe such other forms as may be necessary to achieve the purpose and intendment of this Act.”

The Act in Section 5 states that the Chief Executive of every bank “shall twice in every year, but not later than 7 January, or 7 July, as the case may be, submit to the appropriate authority a list of all employees who joined or left the employment of the bank in the immediately preceding six months expiring respectively on 31 December of the previous year and 30 June of that year respectively.”

The Act explained that “Chief Executive” meant the chairman, the managing director or other similar officer of a bank, including the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Likewise, the Act defined “employee” or “employee of a bank” to include the governor (of the CBN), the chairman and members of the board, managing director, director, general manager, manager, examiner, inspector, controller, agent, supervisor, officer, clerk, cashier, messenger, cleaner, driver, and any other category of workers of the Central Bank, a bank or other financial institutions.

Defaulters of the act

Access Bank has 16 board members, UBA has 15, Sterling Bank and EcoBank have 13 members each, while First Bank of Nigeria (FBN), Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), and Fidelity Bank have 12 members each as contained on their official websites.

Others are Zenith Bank, 11; Wema Bank, 11; Union Bank 11; First City Monument Bank, 9; and Unity Bank, 8.

The post Access Bank, UBA, Other Banks’ Executives Risk 10 Years Imprisonment, Here’s Why appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

The other financial institutions are –Zenith, Fidelity, FCMB, UBA, and Heritage banks.

While disclosing this during a recently-held interview, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said beneficiaries of the programme will only be paid only through their bank accounts using their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) to avoid fraud and double payment.

Keyamo further revealed that the enlisted banks have successfully opened special accounts and captured the biometrics of successful applicants for the job.

“The clear directive of Mr. President to me was that to ensure a fraud-free process, we should ensure that there is a clear audit trail of all payments made to all beneficiaries and as such, we needed to engage selected banks who can share data with us and we needed to open special accountants for all participants in such a way that there will be an audit trail of all payments made through these selected banks,” he explained.

What you should know

The programme was established under the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) by SWP, to identify and exploit employment opportunities that abound in the public works sector by organizing the skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled persons that are unemployed to carry out utility, environmental, infrastructural development and sanitation works.

Under the programme, artisans (beneficiaries), will do public works for three months for N20,000 per month.

The 774,000 jobs which were scheduled to take off on Sunday, November 1, 2020, after been shifted from Thursday, October 1, 2020, will now kick-off, will now kick-off on Tuesday, January 5, 2020.

Announcing the new date of the programme, Festus Keyamo, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, said: “We have taken a firm decision to begin on January 5, 2021, but I am going to make an official announcement after FEC on Wednesday. We had a few hiccups in December but we have taken a decision to begin January 5 which is a Tuesday.

“The programme will run from January to March 2021 which is a pure dry season. So, we are ready. All the obstacles have been removed.”

But here’s our sentiment…

If the SPW’s 774,000 jobs programme is the best way or option to tackle Nigeria’s alarming unemployment rate, then, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government’s ineptitude to address the country’s lingering economic challenges has again been brought to fore.

Recall that about 21,764,614 (21.7 million) Nigerians remain unemployed, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The post 774,000 Jobs: Access Bank, Others Enlisted For SPW appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

Recall that few days ago, Unmask NG reported that the financial institution secured the order to shut down the headquarters over  the debt owed by Cardinal Drilling, which is a third party company that provides drilling services to Seplat.

Following the shut down, Seplat promised to take legal action against Access bank to vacate the court order pursuant to which the building was sealed.

The Bad Debt story

It all began when diamond bank was merged with Herbert Wigwe-led bank. it happened that diamond bank incurred bad loans. One of which was the $85.8million obtained by Cardinal drilling.

The loan which was secured in 2012 was used to obtain CDS Rigs 101, 201, 202, and 203, to provide drilling services to Seplat.

Years later, the loan became a burden on Access Bank due to the merge. Therefore calls out Cardinal Drillings, its Managing Director, Kalu Nwosu, and Orjiakor to recover the loan.

Although, Seplat maintains that there is no relationship with cardinal drilling and itself and it doesn’t own a stake in cardinal drilling, more ties continue to spring up in their interactive voice response and website.

Now, Orjiakor is seen at the middle of the deep blue sea as access bank insists that since he is one of the major investors of Cardinal Drillings, he has to repay the bad loans or else it would seize properties belonging to cardinal drilling.

It is pertinent to know that at the time of publishing the report, Cardinal drilling company is yet to respond to any of the allegations laid before the company.

The post Seplat’s Orjiakor Indicted In Debt Controversy appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

According to our sources, they are at loggerheads over debt.

The financial institution, in a statement seen by Unmask NG, stated that the ongoing dispute was as a result of the debt owed by Cardinal Drilling, which is a third party company that provides drilling services to Seplat.

SEPLAT defense on the ongoing dispute

In response to the ongoing dispute, SEPLAT stated that it doesn’t own a stake in Cardinal Drilling, hence it doesn’t understand why Access Bank sealed its Headquarters.

Seplat stated: “We understand that Cardinal Drilling has outstanding loan obligations to Access Bank. However, SEPLAT is neither a shareholder in Cardinal Drilling, nor has outstanding loan obligations or guarantees to Access Bank and did not at any time make any commitments or guarantees in respect of Cardinal Drilling’s loan obligations to Access Bank.

“SEPLAT strongly believes that there is no merit or justification for this action against it and has taken prompt legal action to vacate the court order pursuant to which the building was sealed.

“This action was taken by Access Bank without any prior notice to SEPLAT, as required under Nigerian law. SEPLAT will vigorously defend against this improper action to the full extent of the law and will seek all appropriate legal remedies.”

It is pertinent to note that access bank has gone beyond the line to lock up the head quarters of one of the top leading oil and gas company in Nigeria. With this line of action taken by the bank, the reputation of the financial institution is at stake as the matter would definitely be taken to court thereby dragging the name of the bank into the mud.

The post Access Bank, Seplat In Dispute, Here’s Why appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

Lamenting the ill-treatment the bank melted on him alongside others, a social media user identified on Twitter as @Tobi_gogori, shared series of pictures and videos of the demonstration.

According to the user who’s yet to feed response to Unmask NG‘s interview, Access Bank dismissed them after more than 10 years of service without paying their entitlements.

“We were sacked on May 1st, but that when the Central Bank of Nigeria intervened, the bank said they didn’t sack anyone. Suddenly on November 30th, we got another round of termination letters from our employers who claimed we were not sacked,” he wrote.

When asked about the unpaid salaries and other entitlements allegation, a top official of Access Bank who doesn’t want his name mentioned in this report, said the protesters are not permanent employees of the bank.

According to him, they (the protesters) were employees of an outsourcing company, Integrated Corporate Services, the bank contracted to fill some positions like tellers, tea girls, cleaners and security men.

“They are not direct staff of the bank. They are outsourced staff and it’s the responsibility of their direct employers to settle them. That is why they took their protest to Access Bank because they felt the bank was an easy target, and that it would give more attention to their plight,” Ripples Nigeria quoted the official as saying.

However, in what seems to be a justification to their disengagements, the official explained that due to COVID-19, Access Bank had to close some branches, hence, direct staff of the company have since been working remotely.

According to him, the remote working style of operating the bank has since been operating on, has denied some category of workers the opportunity to work in the company.

Access Bank’s unreasonable defence

While Access Bank may have dismissed the protesting ex-workers due to the economic downturn COVID-19 ushered in, this publication understands that the official who was quoted in this report didn’t deny that the workers were dismissed illegally.

Owing salaries and entitlements is not only an abuse of labour, but a serious crime against humanity. For a company that donated about N1 billion to the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), owing salaries and other entitlements are shameful.

Recall that in the wake of COVID-19 in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gave a stern warning to all banks, including Access Bank, that they must not sack any bank worker (either permanent or temporary) due to the fall in the economy. And in the case that a bank needs to dismiss its staff, such a bank must seek its approval.

While the bank stated that the dismissed workers weren’t directly employed, it, however, remains an unanswered question if Access Bank is bothered about the welfare of all its staff.

The post Access Bank In Crisis As Ex-Staff Members Protest Non-payment Of Salaries appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

The restriction on the account comes amidst accusations that the government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is cracking down on accounts used to fund welfare for protesters during the two weeks of the protest.

This action made by Access Bank has however generated into a court case between both companies.

According to Gatefield Nigeria, Access Bank had restricted the account since Thursday, October 15, 2020, five days before the Lekki Massacre based on the directive of the CBN. This follows the public affair firm taking the step to sue Access Bank for unilaterally restricting the company’s account.

While addressing the issue, the lead strategist for Abuja-based Gatefield, Adewunmi Emoruwa said: “As more people contributed to our efforts, we noticed that we could no longer conduct transactions on the dedicated account we used for this particular activity.

 “A successful challenge at the court could make the difference for others who were likewise targeted.”

Gatefield Nigeria is demanding a total amount of N100 million as damages done by the restriction of its account. Emoruwa added that “A successful challenge at the court could make the difference for others who were likewise targeted.”

Recall that a lady identified as Marline Oluchi who was actively involved in the nationwide protest against police brutality by cooking for the #EndSARS protesters also accused Access Bank of placing a Post-no-credit on her account.

Access Bank’s overboard action

It is however pertinent to know that Access Bank may have gone beyond the line to ensure that such actions of a peaceful protest are disrupted by placing a Post-No-Credit (PCN) on account of activists who have been participating in the protest.

With this line of action taken by Access bank, customers may no longer have trust in the financial institution.

.

The post Access Bank Sued For N100m, Here’s Why appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

The banks including Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), First Bank, Access Bank, amongst others, were debited N917.5 billion by the CBN in the week ended Friday, October 23, 2020.

According to CBN regulation, in line with the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Nigerian banks are expected to leave a total of 27.5% of customers’ money for CBN to deduct.

How Much CBN Deducted From Banks

Unmask NG learnt that customers’ funds worth N55 billion was deducted from GTBank by the CBN, N285 billion was deducted from Zenith Bank, N160 billion was debited from UBA, NGN95 billion was taken from First Bank, while N140 billion from Access Bank was debited.

Other banks affected include; Polaris Bank which was debited N30 billion; Keystone was debited N30 billion; Standard Chartered N24 billion; Fidelity N15 billion; Ecobank N11 billion; FCMB N11 billion; Wema Bank N10 billion; Stanbic Bank N10 billion; Coronation Bank N10 billion.

 Sterling Bank N8 billion, Citi Bank N6 billion, Union Bank N5 billion, Rand MB N5 billion, Providus Bank N5 billion, Fsdh N1.5 billion, and Nova Bank N1 billion. All totaling N 917.5 billion.

Meanwhile, between the Zenith Bank, UBA, GTBank, First Bank, and Access Bank – all of which are known as FUGAZ – CBN debited a combined N1.9 trillion in the second quarter of April to June 2020. With the latest deduction, CBN has now debited customers’ funds worth N6.57 trillion.

What you should know

CRR involves reducing the amount of money available to banks to lend further reducing their profitability. By debiting banks for failing to meet CRR targets, the CBN is effectively denying banks of the ability to earn an income in customers’ deposits.

The apex bank under the leadership of Governor Godwin Emefiele has deployed several heterodox policies as it strives to stimulate the economy and manage the exchange rate crisis in the absence of strong fiscal support. This policy has placed banks in cross chairs with the apex bank exposing them to CRR debit, should in case they cannot use customers’ deposits to spur local production and lending. it is important to know that the amount which CBN has been debiting as CRR is the cash owned by customers.

The post GTBank, UBA, Others Aide CBN’s Restriction On #EndSARS Protesters’ Accounts appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.

Oluchi who has been actively involved in the nationwide protest against police brutality by cooking for the #EndSARS protesters, said her account manager informed her that Access Bank acted on an order from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

According to her, the manager said CBN had directed Access Bank to restrict the deposit of funds into her account alongside agitators of police brutality across the country.

She wrote: “Kindly don’t send any money to my access bank account anymore. It’s the account i have been using to receive funds to cook for the protesters; my banker just confirmed that it has been placed on a Post-No-Credit (PNC). Apparently, they are working on a CBN directive for any #ENDSARS activist receiving funds with such descriptions;

“When we say this country is messed up, you won’t understand how deep this rot is. It’s so deep that any and everything can be used against you. So so deep;

“We are just Nigerians, trying to air our grievances and make the government listen to us, peacefully by marching through our streets. How hard is that? How hard can it be for them to peacefully listen to us and not get petty? How hard? I mean, we are the ones suffering this SARS menace for years.”

Access Bank’s overboard action

An average Nigerian would agree that due to the excesses and misuse of power by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), so many lives have been cut short while others have been innocently extorted and abused brutally.

To this effect, the Nigerian youth have come together under one voice to urge the Federal Government to put an end to SARS and reform the police unit.

However, It is pertinent to know that Access Bank has gone beyond the line to ensure that such actions of a peaceful protest are disrupted by placing a Post-No-Credit (PCN) on account of activists who have been participating in the protest thereby denying customers the right to access and operate their account. With this line of action taken by Access bank, their reputation is questioning.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach Access Bank for comment proved abortive at the time of writing this report.

The post Access Bank Accused Of Restricting #EndSARS Protesters’ Accounts appeared first on Business News in Nigeria.