Deductions: Reps Ask Banks To Submit Documents In 4 Days

House of Representatives has given commercial banks a four-day deadline to submit the requested documents on tax deductions and charges from civil servants’ earnings.

The House Ad-hoc Committee investigating the deduction of taxes and sundry charges from the earnings of civil and public servants, as well as multiple bank charges on customers’ accounts in Nigeria, issued the directive at its hearing yesterday.

The House had resolved to investigate the deductions of various taxes and charges from the salaries and earnings of civil servants, following a motion sponsored by the House chief whip, Hon. Usman Bello Kumo.

The Green Chamber constituted an ad-hoc committee chaired by Hon. Kelechi Nwogu with Hons. Sagir Koki, Ginger Nwosibi, Mark Obeta, Billy Osaru, Isosa Iyawe, among others, will conduct the investigation.

At the investigation, the panel insisted that the Chief Executive Officers of those financial institutions must appear in person.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Nwogu, stated that the House probe panel is mandated to ensure that all deductions of charges by banks on customers’ accounts are fair and used correctly.
He further stated that the committee had extended an invitation to the Ministry of Finance, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and commercial banks operating in Nigeria, regarding the investigation.

The Committee members noted that commercial banks were perpetuating illegality by deducting inexplicable charges from the bank accounts of civil servants, public servants, and other customers without remittance.

They rejected representatives of the CEOs of GT Bank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and other commercial banks, insisting that they must appear before the panel without fail.

“You cannot appear here without an identity. We are not here alone. We are here on the mandate of the people who elected us into parliament. We have resolved to meet next week on Wednesday. You must submit all requested documents by Monday, May 1.

“We will go through all the documents, and we will put you on oath. It would not be good if we invited you here again and you told us the same story. We have given a deadline that any bank that fails to submit the requested documents on Monday must be sanctioned,” the chairman said.

Nwogu said the panel will leave no stone unturned to unravel why the commercial banks engaged in spurious deductions of charges on their customers’ accounts.