By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Last week, the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for Recovery of Public Property (SPIPRPP) alleged that tier-two Nigerian lender, Unity Bank Plc, owes Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government of Nigeria about N7 billion.
The panel had then threatened to take appropriate actions to recover the money from the financial institution.
However, in a statement, the lender said the allegation by the committee was not only false, but “unfounded.”
“We want to categorically state that the allegation by the Panel is false and unfounded,” the statement from the company emphasised.
Unity Bank explained that in September 2018, a team from the SPIPRPP visited the bank as part of “special” investigation into the banking transactions of the government between 2009 and 2018.
“This culminated in a total of three (3) meetings held with the Panel on January 24, 2019, on January 31, 2019 and February 6, 2019 within the premises of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Abuja.
“At the meetings, the panel requested the bank to provide certain information and solely relied on the information provided for the ‘special’ investigation.
“Throughout the review, the Panel refused to invite the MDAs to any of the meetings to corroborate the bank’s records neither was any adhoc investigative process initiated to validate the SPIPRPP findings. Nonetheless, the bank cooperated fully with the panel.
“The panel in an earlier letter requested the bank to accept culpability and pay off a certain sum deemed outstanding which the bank objected and insisted on completing the reconciliation exercise on the basis that the claims presented against the bank were unfounded.
“Instead, the panel unilaterally halted the reconciliation exercise by refusing to admit further documentary evidence from the bank establishing that there were no balances kept in its books for the MDAs.
“The bank’s reconciliation team were made to sign a register of attendance at every reconciliation meeting, and at no time did the team admit to any liability because the process was still on-going and inconclusive,” the statement signed by its scribe, Mr Mohammed Shehu, said.
Continuing, the bank said, “It is therefore surprising for the SPIPRPP to do a volt face and issue a statement alleging sabotage when it abandoned its sitting and investigation whilst reconciliation was still ongoing with the bank.
“Furthermore, while noting the constitutional power of Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) as the sole agency of government to investigate, review, reconcile and collect revenue for government, Unity Bank cooperated fully SPIPRPP and its consultants in the investigation process in demonstration of its non-culpability.
“Throughout the process, the bank acted in good faith and as a responsible corporate entity. The bank therefore hereby states its commitment to prove that it does its banking transactions transparently and in compliance with extant banking regulations and at no time took charges on the MDAs outside the requirements of the Bankers Tariff, which guides banking operations in Nigeria.
“It is instructive to note that Unity Bank transferred all the balances of the MDAs in its books to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as far back as 2016, in line with the directive of the Federal Government of Nigeria.
“The bank further reiterates that the allegations of SPIPRPP are unfounded.
“Unity Bank vehemently refutes these allegations as a misrepresentation of the bank’s position in the reconciliation exercise.
“We hereby call on our customers and the general public to disregard the allegations.”
Adedapo Adesanya 
Aduragbemi Omiyale