Investigator Probes CBN Staff, NIBBS, NSPMC as Bank’s Personnel Loan Hits N40 Billion
- A new report said the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to probe CBN had begun work
- The team is reportedly beaming its searchlight on other entities with significant CBN interests
- The development comes as CBN revealed that it had disbursed about N40 billion in loans to staff in 2022
Tensions are rising in the financial system as the administration of President Bola Tinubu resolves to bring to book those found culpable in the past nine years at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The President appointed Jim Obazee on July 28, 2023, as a Special Investigator of the CBN and related entities.
Source: Getty Images
Investors begins work, probing CBN staff, NIBS and printing company
According to The Guardian, the investigating team has been significantly expanded with members drawn from different fields of expertise in the financial industry, with Obazee as the helmsman.
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The report says that many officials at the apex bank have been queried already in the past few days as the team expands its operations across the financial system.
The investigating team is also beaming its searchlight on other institutions where CBN is interested, especially the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Limited (NSPMCL) and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS).
The Obazee team is reportedly said to have begun searching relevant agencies for culpable persons that had enriched themselves in collaboration with the suspended CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele.
CBN staff loans jump by 113%, hit N40bn
In a separate report, the apex bank said it had issued N40.67 billion in loans to its staff members as of December 2022.
The statement is contained in CBN’s audited financial report for 2022.
Punch reports a spike of 133.07% from N17.43 billion in 2021 to N40.67 billion in 2022.
The bank did supply details on the number of beneficiaries of the loan.
CBN reveals staff strength and amount spent on allowances
According to information on CBN’s website, it has a staff strength of 10,000, excluding the over 2,000 casuals in the Headquarters and branches as of 1999.
CBN said it operated a reduced staff strength and 4,919 by December 2015, dropping further from 6,119 as of December 2004.
The bank said 78% of the current staff are professionals.
The bank recorded a high debt despite providing N155.63 billion in allowances to staff in 2022.
The bank’s report said the allowances included furniture, housing, leave, transport, productivity allowances, and others paid to staff in the review period.
The amount was N90 billion higher than the CBN’s documented profit of N65,63 billion within the period under review.
The figure was 37.2% more than the N113.35 billion spent on staff allowances in 2o21.
It was also 37.2 percent more than the N113.35bn spent on staff allowances in 2021.
CBN spends N1.2 trillion on staff salaries, furniture, housing, others in 7 years
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said it spent N1.2 trillion in seven years and recorded a net income of N520.04 billion.
The disclosure is contained in the bank’s audited reports for seven years, from 2016 to 2022, released on Friday, August 11, 2023, and showed a decline and recovery in its profit in those years.
The development comes as staff payments increased steadily by 119% over the seven years.
Source: Legit.ng
