The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has ordered workers in all the 19
Deposit Money Banks in the country to declare their assets. The move
analysts say looks like the Federal Government is beginning to expand
its ongoing anti-corruption crusade to the private sector, especially
the banking industry.
The directive, which came in a letter through the Banking
Supervision Department of the CBN to all the 19 commercial banks in the
country about four weeks ago, gave bank officials only one week to
complete the assets declaration process, sources close to the DMBs said.
As of Thursday, investigation by a Financial Watch Nigeria
correspondent revealed that all the staff members of Ecobank Nigeria,
First City Monument Bank Limited and Fidelity Bank Plc had complied with
the directive.
Top officials of Ecobank, Fidelity Bank and FCMB, among others,
confirmed the development. The workers said there was a directive from
their management asking them to comply within one week.
Narrating his experience, a top official of one of the tier-1
banks, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised
to speak on the matter, said, “All our staff members, from the most
junior to the most senior, were asked to declare their assets through a
court affidavit. It was handled by the company’s lawyer.
“We were asked to declare all our assets, including developed
and undeveloped parcels of land, properties, houses in Nigeria and
outside Nigeria etc. We were asked to also declare everything, including
power generators at home. We complied within one week.”
Top bank executives said the move by the apex bank was not
unconnected to the Federal Government’s plans to extend its
anti-corruption crusade to the private sector.
It was also gathered that fear had descended on bank workers,
especially top officials whose assets were beyond their means. It was
learnt that the fear that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences
Commission might soon begin the examination of the details of the assets
declaration forms vis-à-vis the properties some top banker own.
Some top bankers, who own huge assets, it was gathered, were
panicky on how they would be able to justify the huge assets in their
names should the EFCC and ICPC come knocking on their doors.
Commenting on the assets declaration, an executive director in one of the top three banks, said,
“It is part of the ongoing anti-corruption crusade in the country. The
Federal Government is trying to deepen the anti-corruption war in the
private sector, and it is believed that the banking sector is a very
critical sector. This is why the CBN has been mandated to do this.”
Unconfirmed sources at the CBN said the directive followed a letter
from the Code of Conduct Bureau asking the central bank to direct all
bank employees to declare their assets with immediate effect.
“The directive is from the Code of Conduct Bureau. It is an
extant rule. Before now, most people have not been complying. So the CCB
wrote a letter to the CBN reminding it about it. This is why the CBN
had to write the banks to comply,” a top official of the apex bank told our correspondent on condition of anonymity.
The Acting Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Isaac
Okoroafor, said the assets declaration was not a directive of the apex
bank but a statutory requirement in line with the Bank Employees’
Declaration of Assets Act of 1986.
Asked why the CBN was enforcing its compliance at the moment, he said, “Why not now?”
The Bank Employees Declaration of Assets Act Cap B1 Laws of the
Federation of Nigeria, 2004 provides for asset declaration by all bank
employees. The Act also empowers the President to extend the application
of the law to other categories of persons.
Source: Financial Watch
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