Nigeria extends anti-corruption fight to banking sector, workers to declare assets

In a bid to strengthen its anti-corruption war, Nigeria has ordered commercial lenders workers to declare their assets, according to a circular by the central bank.
Banking industry analysts said the move may not be unconnected with ongoing investigations into billions of naira stolen from the treasury by public officials and suspected to have been aided by banks workers. It may also be a systematic widening of the government anti-corruption stance to the private sector, especially the banking industry.

In a circular by the Banking Supervision Department of the central bank, all bank workers were given one week to complete the assets declaration process, and submit same to the regulatory bank.
According an official of one of the tier-1 banks, “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.”
It was also gathered that fear had gripped 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 is causing many of them sleepless night.
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 regulatory bank 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.
*Copyright Punch Newspaper