The House of Representatives has queried the management of First Bank of Nigeria over N94.345 billion revenue allegedly collected on behalf of Nigeria Customs Service.

The House also queried the management over the allegation of breach of agreement on Cash on Transfer (CoT) charges to the tune of N28.3 million.

Oluwole Oke, the House Committee on Public Accounts’ chairman, queried the management during the investigative hearing into the audit queries issued by the office of the Auditor-General for the Federation.

The lawmaker acknowledged receipt of the amended report submitted by First Bank concerning the additional N9.4 million.

Mr Oke said the parliament invited First Bank to respond to the auditor-general’s audit query that the NCS was over-charged by the banks in the area of CoT.

He added that presentations made by representatives of some banks, including First Bank, were at variance with the agreement signed by NCS authorities.

According to the query, First Bank, in an MoU, charged 30k and other commissions amounting to N1.3 billion, thereby raising the commission to N1 against the 30k originally charged.

Shehu Aliyu, who led the First Bank executive Director said that the Bank ought to collect 30k per N1,000 as stipulated in the MoU signed by both parties.

He mentioned that in addition to the 30k charge, there was another charge of 10k for Interswitch, adding that First Bank had, during the last public hearing, informed the committee of its plan to tender a new report to reflect the new 10k charge.

He also stated that from January to December 2019, First Bank collected N94.3 billion on behalf of the NCS, adding that it charged N28.3 million on 30k per N1,000 and that the net remittance on a daily basis aggregated to N94.345 billion. 

(NAN)