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Reps investigate Union Bank MD, Osibodu

By on July 10, 2013

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The House of Representatives yesterday set up a panel to investigate fraud allegations against the Managing Director of Union Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Funke Osibodu.

Hon. Akpan Micah Umoh (PDP-Akwa Ibom) moved the motion which led to the decision to probe the allegations.

After presenting his motion under “Matters of Urgent National Importance,” Umoh asked the House to institute an enquiry into his allegations that Osibodu was fraudulently running the bank. His prayer was granted after the motion was adopted.

Umoh, an environmental scientist and one of the most vocal members from Akwa Ibom, insisted that the investigation should cover the period of Osibodu’s stewardship of the bank.

He prayed the House “to empanel an ad-hock committee to investigate the entire operations of the bank during the period covered by Funke Osibodu and report back to the House within 21 days”.

The lawmaker argued that despite “all genuine efforts by government to sanitise the banking sector, certain sector chief executives and managements have sought to undermine such efforts”.

Umoh said he was amazed that during Osibodu’s tenure, operations of the bank were fraught with unwholesome practices detrimental to the interest of shareholders and the nation in general.

The lawmaker accused the bank management of improper book-keeping, asset-stripping and sundry offences.

Umoh said he was “concerned that in the face of bare facts that the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in the UBN in 2009 was premised on the charges of inadequate liquidity, poor corporate governance and inadequate capital, a chief executive of the same financial institution would embark on a voyage along the same path of ruin intended to be cured, including but limited to: skewed book keeping to create the false impression that the bank was run down; failure to write back to banks profit and loss account loans recovered from Transcorp…, asset stripping by fraudulent reduction of book value from N79.22 billion to N62.11 billion; manipulating AMCON purchase of alleged non-functioning loans to facilitate the giving away of the bank at a paltry N48 billion when it still had a value of over N238 billion; unprecedented jumbo pay to directors; and unaccounted transfer of $500 million through UBN UK Plc to another foreign bank”.

The motion, which was adopted after a short and favourable debate, was referred to the House Committee on Banking and Currency to probe and present a report to the House in 21 days.

 

(The Nation)