The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) has debunked claims that about 150 billion naira is missing from the vault of the bank contrary to a wiretapped currently in circulation, the regulatory banks' spokesman has said.
He said the bank provided 650 billion naira loans at nine percent with a two-year grace period to 35 States in 2015 following the collapse of oil price and the on prompting of the presidency to help bail out the states.
“These monies were distributed to the states monthly with documented approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Presidency."
According to him, external auditors in their draft account for 2018, "erroneously classified about 150 billion naira of these loans as bad, which negatively affected the Bank’s Balance Sheet and shareholders fund."
“The selective conversation being circulated was simply a discussion to ascertain why the auditors took that position and next steps to resolving it.
Okorafor said the issue arising from the error of the auditor have been resolved, having obtained writing a note of assurance from the finance ministry that the loan will be repaid by the affected states.
“Obviously, it soon became clear that a State Government loan cannot be classified as “bad” or “irrecoverable” when the State still exists and getting FAAC allocations.
He noted that the negative entry by the auditor in the 2018 financial report has since been reversed while the CBN's has been certified as a true reflection of the state of affairs.
Okorafor urged Nigerians to disregard the audio and continue to trust that the regulatory bank is doing everything it could to represent their interests in the best possible way.
“Under the leadership of Governor Emefiele, the CBN has always stood for, and vigorously pursued transparency in its stewardship of public resources and policies.
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