Reports that Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited is shutting down its branches in Nigeria have been refuted.
In response to a charge made in the House of Representatives Ad Hoc committee report on the assets and liabilities of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, it made this disclosure in a statement.
According to reports, the Ad Hoc committee had declared that “Standard Chartered Bank is closing all of its Nigerian branches and the nation has so much to worry about, considering the huge funds warehoused therein in the names of NAPIMS (National Petroleum Investment Management Services) and NNPC.”
However, the bank claimed in a statement released by Dayo Aderugbo, Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, that the accusations as reported by the media were “completely false.”
It added, “Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited is fully committed to Nigeria and remains operational with branches in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Abuja. We remain fully committed to providing the best-in-class financial services and solutions to all our customers
“You will understand that we are unable to provide any additional information at this time as this matter is under legislative review between the Federal Government, the NNPC, and other relevant parties,” the statement reads.
The House of Representatives requested a forensic investigation of the NNPCL to ascertain its assets, liabilities, and current market worth, The PUNCH had reported on Wednesday.
The audit, according to the House, was required as a result of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s transformation into a limited liability company.
When the assets were transferred, only $58.8 billion (or N26 trillion at the official exchange rate of N450 to $1) was transferred, leaving a balance of N2 trillion unaccounted for, according to the Ad Hoc committee’s report on NNPCL’s assets and liabilities, which was presented to the legislature on Tuesday.
Then it advised NNPCL to review its accounting procedures and mentioned that Standard Chartered Bank was closing its branches in Nigeria where NNPCL monies were kept.
