The House of Representatives on Tuesday accused commercial banks of perpetrating illegality by deducting inexplicable amounts from customers’ accounts.

The House Ad Hoc Committee chairman, investigating deduction of taxes from civil and public servants’ earnings and bank charges on customers’ accounts, Kelechi Nwogu, said this during an investigative panel in Abuja.

Mr Nwogu reiterated the panel’s mandate to ensure that all deductions or charges by banks on customers’ accounts are deducted correctly, levied correctly, and used correctly.

“Commercial banks are perpetrating illegality by deducting inexplicable charges from civil servants, public servants, and other customers’ bank accounts without remittances,” he said.

Mr Nwogu, who affirmed the committee’s commitment to protecting Nigerians from illegal charges, said the committee had extended an invitation to the finance ministry. 

He also said that they would partner with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the EFCC, and commercial banks operating in Nigeria on the investigation.

The chairman, who rejected the representation of the CEOs of GTBank, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, and others, insisted that the CEOs must appear before the panel without fail.

He said, “You cannot appear here without an identity. We are not here on our own. We are here on the mandate of the people who elected us into parliament. 

“We have resolved to meet next week on Wednesday. You must submit all requested documents on or before Monday. We will go through all the documents, and we will put you on oath.”

The committee, however, gave a four-day ultimatum to all the banks involved to submit all required documents for the probe.

According to the chairman, the committee has set a deadline: any bank that fails to submit the requested documents by Monday will be sanctioned.

Mr Nwogu said that the House panel was not leaving any stone unturned to unravel why the commercial banks engaged in spurious deductions from their customers’ accounts. 

(NAN)