By John Ikani
The demand by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC for Bank Owners and workers nationwide to declare their assets takes effect from June 1, 2021.
Heritage Times recalls that the anti graft agency had directed that all operators in the Nigerian financial system, especially bankers declare their assets latest by June 1, 2021.
The directive was issued by EFCC Boss Abdulrasheed Bawa who explained that the move is in line with the Bank Employees (Declaration of Asset) Act. 1986, aimed at sanitizing the country’s financial system.
With the directive given by The Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa, it will be an offence for bank workers not to present on demand their asset declaration forms to the agency.
Compliance with the directive
Although the bankers are yet to fully comply with the order issued by the EFCC since March 16 this year, the commission said in its ‘EFCC Alert’, its quarterly Magazine, made available to newsmen on Monday that the commission was serious in implementing the law with effect from Tuesday (June 1, 2021).
“All we are saying is that come June 1, we are going to be demanding for it (assets declaration forms). We want to look at it vis-à-vis other information that we have. It is something that as an institution we have resolved to do. Of course we expect stiff resistance, but we are determined,” Bawa said.
What the 1986 Bank Employees Declaration of Assets Act stipulates
According to Section 7 (2) of the Act, any banker who refuses to disclose their assets on demand risks being jailed up to ten years on conviction.
The law says:“Any employee guilty of an offence under subsection (1) of this Section shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for ten years and shall, in addition, forfeit the excess assets or its equivalent in money to the Federal Government”.
Section 1 of the Act makes it mandatory for every employee of a Bank to make full disclosure of assets upon employment, and annually in subsequent years.
