Access Bank Under Fire For ‘Keeping And Making High Profits’ From Govt’s Money

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has come hard on Access Bank PLC for allegedly hoarding the money of the state and “making high profits from it to the detriment of the government and the people of the state”.

This was as the Assembly invited the Managing Director of the bank to explain in detail the non-payment or delay in the payment of contractors handling various State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) projects across the state.

Naija News reports that Daniel Ogazi, the Chairman House Committee on Education stated this when the management of Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board appeared for its 2021 Budget Assessment in Lafia on Thursday.

He said the legislature was worried about the myriad of petitions it was receiving from contractors handling SUBEB projects in the state over the non-payment, lamenting that this is “after many of them had completed their works, with others having theirs reaching various stages of completion.

“Many of the contractors collected loans, some collected personal loans from individuals where they are to pay back 20 per cent interest monthly, apart from the increase in the costs of construction materials in the market on daily basis.

“Many of these constructions have reached different stages of completion and the works have stopped and with the rainy season now affecting the structures,” the Deputy Majority Leader of the House said.

He continued that the bank’s action has also put the state in a bad image before the world, that it did not honour its commitments to contractors.

His words, “They do not know that the fault is from the bank who have decided on the reasons best known to them to keep our money.

“And be making high profits from it to the detriment of the government and the people of the state.

“It is on this note that we are inviting the MD/CEO of Access Bank to appear before the House on Wednesday, 8th September 2021, to explain to us in detail what is happening with the state’s money in their custody.

“We have paid our counterpart funds as a state, the money has been lodged in the bank, why are they keeping it?

“They are unnecessarily subjecting the state and contractors to hardship, leaving our school structures in bad shape and now the rain is destroying them.

“I want to call on the contractors to be patient, the House will protect their interests and their money is guaranteed,” Ogazi said.

In an earlier remark, the state SUBEB Chairman, Alhaji Mohammed Dan’Azumi, while explaining the budget performance of the board, appreciated the committee for supporting its activities.