December 2021 has become a month of sorrow for customers of Ecobank, Fidelity Bank and First Bank in Abia State following the sealing of the financial institutions by men of Abia State Internal Revenue Service (AIRS) popularly known as BIR.
The gates to the banks were on Thursday, December 2, slammed locked by the officials of AIRS because of their refusal to pay accumulated tax to the Abia State Revenue agency.
The AIRS giving its reasons for the action, accused the three Banks of not remitting to it, about N5 billion naira which the banks allegedly deducted from the wages of their respective staff as Pay As You Earn (PAYE) but allegedly refused to remit them to Abia State Internal Revenue Service.
AIRS explaining the action further, said it did not act without authority as copies of Court Judgement from Abia State High Court, Umuahia, mandating the closure, were conspicuously displayed on the gates and walls.
The Court order, according to the message contained in the materials pasted on the banks’ gates, was obtained on Tuesday, November 30, 2021 and was given in favour of the Claimants, AIRS, by Justice Chido Nwakanma, siting relevant Abia State government tax laws.
Ecobank was accused of owing N4.2 million while Fidelity Bank owes N558million naira. First Bank PLC also owed N254 million naira of unremitted PAYE tax but settled their matter on Wednesday, December 8.
The Court Judgement also explained that the matter was decided in the favour of AIRS after the Lawyer to the Abia Revenue Agency was able to exhaust his arguments on the alleged tax offences by the accused banks.
On Thursday, December 2nd which was the first day the judgement was enforced, thousands of banks customers all over the State who banked with the affected financial institutions, loitered and barricaded the gates to the sealed banks, in confusion and anger.
Their anger stemmed from the fact that they could not gain access into the banks to do one thing or the other, especially those who just received their November salaries but needed to enter the bank hall to cash their money.
Also, those who came with cheques and, those whose Automated Teller Machines (ATM) cards had expired and those who came to deposit huge sum of cash were equally stranded.
This is not forgetting many fragile pensioners who don’t make use of ATM cards but prefer to withdraw money directly from imthe bank halls.
Senior bank officials and security personnel serving in the three banks suffered terrible and tough times trying to calm the anger of the disappointed customers who besieged their gates, even as some of the enraged customers like in First bank main branch, Umuahia, physically attacked a senior official of the bank for ‘suffering us this Christmas period’.
Initially, the confused customers believed that the banks would be unsealed before noon, but their hopes were dashed as hours rolled to days and days rolled beyond one week, and the banks remained shut.
Except First bank which settled its problem with AIRS on Wednesday 8th December afternoon and reopened, Eco and Fidelity banks have remained sealed up till Saturday (11/12/21) when News Echo visited their branches in Umuahia.
Apart from sealing the banks, officials of Abia State Internal Revenue Service have been conducting State-wide surveillance around the banks of Fidelity and Ecobanks to ensure that they remained close till they settled their debt.
Even though there are availability of alternative options like ATM cards, Mobile money transfer, Point of Sale centres etc, majority of customers and business suffered from unpaid cheques, unpaid school fees, uncleared goods became the order of the day.
Also, those who had issues like cash debit without pay, uncleared transfer, fraud complaints, Foreign money transfer, foreign exchange services etc did not have where to solve their problems as such services are only offered inside the bank halls.
Lamenting their loss, some traders at Isi gate, Ubani market, Orie Ugba markets etc who spoke to News Echo on their travails, called for amicable solution of the rift to save their businesses from further losses.
Mr. Monday Obika, who deals in electrical appliances at Warri street Umuahia, lamented that he was unable to withdraw huge amount of money sent to him from Poland, by his younger brother, which he said, has affected his plans to stock his shop for yuletide sales.
Also, a civil servant in Abia State who pleaded anonymity said his November 2021 salary is still trapped in Ecobank.
“Is is not shameful that after deducting this and that from customers’ accounts, this bank can not pay tax.
“My children are hungry and I don’t know what to tell them.”
An elderly federal government pensioner, Chief Steven Onuma, who said he came from Ahaba Imenyi village, said he came to withdraw money for the purchase of his routine drugs but could not access the services.
“I don’t use ATM. I like to come here myself to collect my monthly pensions but for more than a week I came here, their gates remained closed. Please those who locked here should open it before I die of hunger and sickness. My legs are getting swollen because I have not taken my drugs”, said Elder Steven Onuma.
WE CANT PAY WITHOUT APPROVAL FROM HEADQUARTERS– Closed Banks
Some senior staff with Ecobank and Fidelity bank who spoke on the crises, revealed that the banks would remain shut even for eternity until an approval from the Lagos headquarters of the banks comes.
According to a senior banker of Ecobank, “They say we are owing N4.2b and where do you expect this bank to pay that type of money? Our managers are doing their best to bring a solution to it and our Corporate headquarters in Lagos has been informed. We can’t do anything without their approval.”
“Furthermore, we are negotiating on with AIRS. Please, our customers should be patient with us. We understand how they feel but we will soon return to service”, said the Ecobank customer care personnel.
However, no further statement has been issued by the Abia State Internal Revenue Service concerning the the closure, apart from the copies of Court rulings given to the affected banks.
