Date Published: 08/21/09

We won’t take excuses from bank debtors, Waziri warns.

Dispute over amounts owed and figures published by the Central Bank of Nigeria will not be taken as an excuse from bank debtors for failure to pay at the expiration of a seven day ultimatum given by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Mrs. Farida Waziri warned on Thursday.

Fielding questions from journalists at the protocol lounge of the Murtala Mohammed local airport, Ikeja, Lagos on Thursday, the EFCC boss said the Commission was prepared to effect the arrest of defaulters at the expiration of the ultimatum.

“We have heard some of the debtors disputing the figures published by CBN. Our position on this is that they have to pay whatever they are claiming they owe first and after that we can sit down and reconcile the accounts. But I can assure you that we will not take any dispute on figures as an excuse from anybody. They don’t have to wait for us to start effecting their arrests before they begin to perform”, Waziri warned.

According to her, “if you claim to owe one kobo, bring that first, then we can all sit down and reconcile the difference. Otherwise, we will do exactly what we have promised to do; that is, arrest, prosecution and confiscation of their assets. I will need the cooperation of the concerned persons and not excuses. As you can see, our operatives have been moved to Lagos not for fun but mainly for this purpose”

She said the EFCC will need the support of all stakeholders especially players in the banking sector, the judiciary and the media to achieve its goals adding that “no one can do it alone and that is why you see us working with SSS, CBN,SEC, Police, NDIC and others to recover these huge funds that had been lost due to sharp practices in our banks”.