Senate Joint Committee on Pensions on Monday resumed its sitting on the fraud in the pensions scheme as revelations came on how banks helped to warehouse pensions fund without approval from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
Revelations also showed how millions of naira were paid from the pension funds into accounts of civil servants working with the various pension offices.
The banks who appeared before the committee are GT Bank, First Bank, Fidelity Bank and Eco Bank.
The Managing Director of GT Bank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, told the committee that N3bn of the pension fund was received by the bank from a Union Bank Account in April 2010, but the approval from the AGF came in May.
According him, the account was opened, but inoperative until the approval was received.
He said a total of N2bn was transferred to an Eco Bank Account following a directive from the Pensions Reform Task Team and the current balance is N1.1bn.
Acting Managing Director of First Bank, Mr. Kehinde Lawanson, while appearing at the hearing presented bank accounts of civil servants into which millions of pensions funds were paid.
One of the accounts with the name Abdullahi Idi, had a total of N36m of pension funds paid into it and withdrawn between May and July 2010.
Another account with the name Madubuike Christian was said to have received N4.8m as estacode and another N4.8m using the name “Chairman.”
Fidelity Bank also appeared to defend its role in opening of an account for the Police Pensions totalling N8bn.
Its Managing Director, Mr. Ike Mbagu, said although the amount was received before a written approval was given by the AGF, the money was placed on what he described as a “memorandum” account.
He explained that the account remained inoperative until the approval came, but added that interests of 1per cent was paid on the deposit.
United Bank for Africa, which has N2bn of the pension funds, had appeared before the committee two weeks ago.
The committee has however, summoned two civil servants in the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Ibrahim Abdulkarim, and Idu Mathias,
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God help your people of this evil men.where do we go from here?
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