The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on unclaimed funds in commercial banks on Wednesday disclosed that it had uncovered over N300 billion unclaimed funds in the banks.
The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Uyme Idem, who gave this figure on Wednesday in Abuja, said that the amount represented a mere fraction of the value of unclaimed funds in the banks.
The lawmaker said that the committee was saddled with the responsibility of recovering N1.2 trillion which had been hanging in the banks over the years.
Idem pointed out that the over N300 billion unclaimed funds could be described as hanging funds emanating from failed transactions by government agencies and banks.
He explained that the about N300 billion was discovered on March 29 from banks and government agencies, adding that the committee is still scrutinising documents and reports sent to it by banks and government agencies with a view to recovering more funds.
The legislator said: “The commercial banks are regulated by government and they cannot refuse us. This assignment is crucial. We will not allow any government agency or commercial bank to undermine our power.
“If the commercial banks fail to appear the next line of action will be to summon them”, he cautioned.
Idem decried a situation where the country would keep borrowing to fund its budget when it has over N1 trillion hanging in banks as undesirable, noting that such a situation is not desirable for the nation’s economic growth.
He stressed that if the money in the banks’ vaults was recovered, it would go a long way to minimize the level of government’s borrowing to finance its budgets.
