Reports have emerged that Moruf Oseni, the CEO of Wema Bank, and other senior officials of the bank could soon be invited by Jim Obazee, a special investigator appointed to probe the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its entities according to Top Celebrities Online. The investigation is focused on the management of intervention funds released to the bank by CBN. The executives of Wema Bank are expected to be questioned over N1.27 trillion undisbursed intervention funds that were meant for some commercial banks in Nigeria, including Wema Bank.
The move is aimed at ascertaining any discrepancies in the management of intervention funds by Wema Bank amid the discovery of discrepancies and irregularities in the financial accounts of the CBN. The CBN released its financial accounts for the years 2016 to 2022 in August, amid an ongoing probe of the financial services sector regulator by a special investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu.
George Akume, the secretary to the Government of the Federation, said that the Federal Government would soon unveil the audit report of the probe of the CBN. If found culpable, Wema Bank and its officials will be made to face the wrath of the law.
According to sources, about nine banks have at least N208.33 billion undisbursed funds from the CBN for the Anchor Borrower Fund and the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme at little interest rates. Wema Bank Plc claimed it had N848.23 million of the AB Fund in its coffers from N1.96 billion, signifying that it had disbursed N846.26 billion between January and June 2023.
The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme was established by the CBN in line with its developmental function. It was launched by former President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2015, to create a link between anchor companies involved in the processing and smallholder farmers of key agricultural commodities. The Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS) is a scheme powered by the CBN in collaboration with the Federal Government represented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, with the aim of providing concessionary funding for agriculture so as to promote commercial agricultural enterprises in Nigeria.
Controversies have arisen over the beneficiaries and repayments of the ABP fund.
Send Us News, Gist, more... to citypeopleng@gmail.com | Twitter: @CitypeopleMagz
