HoR says sale of Polaris Bank followed due process

By Tom Okpe

The House of Representatives on Wednesday affirmed that the ongoing process to sale Polaris Bank followed due process with Presidential approval.

Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee investigating the sale of Polaris Bank, Rep Henry Nwawuba confirmed this during a press briefing at the national Assembly, Abuja, allaying investors’ fears on status of the financial institution.

Nwawuba disclosed that the Ad-hoc Committee during the scrutiny of various documents and extant regulatory process on sale of the bank, disclosed that there are evidences of substantial compliance in the process.

According to him, out of the 35 companies invited to bid for the bank, the regulatory agency shortlisted 15 bidders and later seven, afterwards got Presidential approval to proceed with sale of the bank.

He said: “On the last legislative day before we broke up from plenary sessions to work on the budget, there was a motion on the floor asking the CBN to suspend sale of Polaris Bank and instituting an Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the circumstances, as I emerged to Chair that committee.

“The Committee has started work and we have looked at the documents and that is the beauty of investigations in Parliament. The beauty is that regardless of what comes on the floor, it is only when we started looking at the documents before us that we start getting clearer picture.

“So far, we have found evidence of substantial compliance in this process. We have seen that indeed, about 35 companies were invited to bid and of course it went down to 15 and to 7 and ultimately a recommendation was made and a presidential approval given.

“We are happy so far, but as you know it is an investigation and hopefully, we intend to conclude this investigation and lay the report before we commence sitting.

“So far everything looks really good. We do not have any cause for concern, for now. For the stability of the financial systems in Nigeria, we would call on Nigerians to know that, there is nothing wrong with Polaris Bank as a financial house.

“What the House is looking at is the process of the acquisition or the sale and so far, we are confident from what we are seeing. Until we conclude this investigation, I would not be able to speak authoritatively on the matter, but from what we are seeing so far, particularly with the approvals and the steps taken, there seems to be substantial compliance on the matter.

“Nigerians are enjoined to relax and leave their deposits and continue their business with the bank.

“We feel that as a responsible House, we would look at the process, and that is what we are looking at. If it’s based on the investigation of the House, so far there is no cause for alarm and no cause for concern.

“The bank acquisition process seems to have complied substantially. I do hope customers would make their decision to deposit and withdraw money based on the prudential guidelines, liquidity ratio and other sound financial reasoning and thinking and not just hearsay in social media,” Nwawuba said.

When asked on the Committee’s position on the state of health of the bank, he said: “Technically, yes. Except if there is an emergency, we would discover at the end. I don’t expect any fireworks.”

While speaking on the ravaging flood on Mbaitoli/Ikeduru Federal Constituency of Imo State, Nwawuba who solicited for Federal Government’s intervention, disclosed that no fewer than 35,000 people have so far been displaced from 35 communities.

He also urged Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide moratorium for farmers who obtained loan facility and were affected by the ravaging flood.

While acknowledging that the challenges posed by this year’s flood was unprecedented, he observed that “this year, we have witnessed high volumes in terms of rainfall from the north down to the southern part of Nigeria. My constituency is not different.

“We have been affected tremendously by displacements. Of course, our farmland, washed away. And people generally being displaced. We, naturally in the south east are bedeviled with a lot of erosion issues, maybe because of the texture of our soil, but this year it has been particularly bad.

“I have reached out to the intervention agencies especially NEMA. In my letter, I listed about 35 communities because we have 64 autonomous communities that make up my constituency. We have a total of about 35,000 people that are currently displaced. Homes have been washed out.

“Yesterday in the news if you saw what happened in Bayelsa where we even had dead bodies being washed up the ravaging flood. Flooding is a very big menace and looking for food and relief items and even non-food items at the moment, just to cushion the effects. It has been very bad.

“I hope it can be taken as a matter of emergency, so we can get necessary relief to the people as quickly as possible. Hopefully I do believe the emergency services would get to us. We have also reached out to the refugee commission for displaced people.”