House C’ttee Summons BoI MD over N11bn Unrecovered Loans

• House C’ttee Summons BoI MD over N11bn Unrecovered Loans

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts thursday issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Olukayode Pitan, to defend allegations of N11bn unrecovered loans disbursed to various customers.

He risks arrest should he fail to appear before the committee by 11 am today.

The deadline followed his inability to honour the lawmakers’ invitation to appear before it thursday to defend the allegations contained in the report of the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF).

Rather, Chief Financial Officer of the bank, Mr. Taiwo Kolawole, told the committee that Pitan could not honour the committee’s invitation as he was already scheduled for another meeting with some executives of the Enugu State Government.

The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers), however, noted over N8 billion loan advancement had not been recovered while the bank had failed to make efforts to recover them, according to one of the queries by the office of the AuGF.

The second query bothered on another N2 billion unexplained expenditure.

He said: “Considering the enormity of the sum involved, over N11billion as contained in the query by the AuGF, and considering the fact that the MD has given more importance to a meeting with Enugu State Government, we are tempted to take action as appropriate but in the spirit of fair hearing, we want to give him another opportunity so that he can appear before us tomorrow, the 18th of Aug 2017 by 11a.m, failure of which we will order for his arrest”.

A member of the committee, Hon. Gabriel Onyewife (APGA, Anambra) said the initial excuse by the MD “ was annoying as it was insulting to the effect that the meeting with the Enugu government officials supersedes that with the National Assembly and moved that the BoI chief executive be summoned.

Nonetheless, Kolawole had admitted that the committee’s invitation was duly received on July 28, which the lawmakers believed should be enough space of time for Pitan to have prepare towards the meeting.

Meanwhile, the committee also ordered the Managing Director of the Bank of Agriculture (BoA), Mr. Kabir Mohammed Adamu to reappear before it today to respond to queries against the bank.

Executive Director, Regional Banking, BoA, Mr. Emmanuel Ameh, told the committee that the MD was at the National Assembly earlier but had to leave following information that officials of the Islamic Development Bank, the African Development as well as the World Bank were coming to see him over loan facilities the bank is seeking.

The committee which expressed dissatisfaction with the development therefore asked the bank’s representatives to step aside and remain within the premises pending when the MD got back from the said meeting to respond to the queries.

However, Adamu who is just a few months in office could not make it back before the committee adjourned sitting for the day.

He was consequently asked to report to the committee today by 10am to answer to five queries as issued by the AuGF for infractions between 2014 and 2015.