Bank of Industry (BoI) has vowed to recover the about N8 billion debt owed it by 53 “recalcitrant debtors.”
Speaking before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts in response to a query from the Auditor General of the Federation’s 2015 report, Managing Director of the Bank, Olalekan Pitan, said the recovery drive had already began in earnest, even as some of the debtors had taken the bank to court.
Pitan, who only recently assumed office as CEO of the bank, explained that BoI immediately complied with the directives of the Auditor-General of the Federation on the recovery of the debt, pointing out that the AGF asked the bank to either publish the names of the debtors in three national dailies, as it made efforts to recover the debt.
According to him, the recovery efforts began immediately with the publication of the names of the debtors in three national newspapers.
“In addition, we have recovered some money; some of the companies were reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for recovery.
“Also, some of them have subjected the recovery to litigation, while the property of some of them are on the verge of being sold,” he told the committee, promising to forward details of how much had been recovered, as well as details of the debtors involved as demanded, after perusing the bank’s records.
On the N2.7 billion YouWin fund domiciled with the BoI for disbursement since 2012, Pitan said the bank could only access N870 million out of which N129 million was returned to the treasury through the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in 2015.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Kingsley Chinda, said the House was worried about the huge debt, which could negatively affect the objectives of the bank, designed to boost the country’s economy.
Pitan, however, explained that the debts may though appear huge; the bank was prepared for such developments, and will not relent in its efforts at recovering it, adding that “the bank is not under duress, this does not in any way threaten our business. We are rated, and in a healthy position.”
