E-Financial
FG Closes 36 Accounts Used to Siphon Pension Funds
The federal government has closed 36 bank accounts being used for the payment of pensions to its retirees following discoveries that they were being used to siphon funds meant for genuine pensioners.
Alhaji Goni Aji, head of Service, said his office was harmonising all pension fund accounts and putting in place structure for checks and balances to block any loophole through which funds meant for pensioners were being stolen.
He told Punch that the the accounts were harmonised and report of all the pension fund accounts being managed by the OHCSF came from the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission.
“In that report, what came out was that there were about 40 different accounts being used to manage pension funds. So, with the help of ICPC, these have been reduced to only four banks that are very credible. They are Access Bank, Union Bank, Zenith Bank and UBA, and they are cooperating well,” Aji said.
The banks, he added, were providing the OHCSF with monthly report, which it was using as well as information generated in the office to block other outlets that in the past created avenues for mismanagement of pension funds.
He said the process would continue until the Pension Transitional Arrangement Department began operation fully.
The PTAD, Aji added, would take over all the accounts, including the pension office of the Head of Service and the other pension offices under the old pension scheme.
Despite the release of huge funds to the banks by the government for the payment of pensioners, those in charge of the payment had for many years deprived genuine pensioners of their benefits and subjected them to undue hardship.
Before the dissolution of the Pension Reform Task Force last year, the team tendered a charge sheet document to the Senate Committee on Pensions in which it charged 32 persons and corporate organisations with over 140 counts.
These were subsequently arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly siphoning billions of naira from the Federal Government’s pension funds.
According to the PRT, over 13,874 cheque leaflets were allegedly used by pension thieves to siphon several billions of naira from pension accounts of the pension offices in different banks between 2008 and June 2011.
It said that in one of the accounts, 30 cheques were drawn in a day and over N250million was being withdrawn weekly by officials in charge of pension matters.
Last year, in a memorandum to the Senate by one of the National Union of Pensioners’ chapters, the ex-workers complained bitterly about how some banks had been mishandling their funds.
As part of the complaint, it was stated, “There was non-payment of May 2004 pension to pensioners in seven states of the federation. The May 2004 pension was paid to the defunct City Express Bank when it was apparent that it would go under.”
E-Financial
Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme
“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.
MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.
Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.
The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.
The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.
E-Financial
CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.
The inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.
In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.
“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.
The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.
However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.
Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.
Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.
E-Financial
CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.
The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.
Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.
“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”
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