The chairman of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee looking into the sale of Polaris Bank, Mr. Henry Nwawuba, stated on Thursday that the sale of the bank was proceeding legally.
The politician made this remark at a press conference held at the National Assembly in Abuja.
He allayed investors’ concerns about the financial institution’s standing by noting that there were signs of significant procedural compliance.
He claims that out of the 35 businesses invited to submit bids for the bank, the regulatory body selected 15 and then seven, receiving presidential approval to move forward with the sale of the bank in the process.
“Before we broke up from plenary sessions to work on the budget, there was a motion on the floor asking the CBN to suspend the sale of Polaris Bank, I happened to have emerged to Chairman of the committee.
“The Committee has started work and we have looked at the documents and that is the beauty of investigation in Parliament.
“The beauty is that, regardless of what comes on the floor, it is only when we start looking at the documents before us that we start getting a clearer picture,” he said.
So far, the committee has found that the process of selling the bank is going very well, he said, adding that about 35 companies were asked to submit bids before the list was cut to 15, and then to 7.
He added that since a recommendation had been made and had gained presidential consent, the committee sought to wind up the investigation and make the findings public before the plenary resumed.
He added that for the stability of Nigeria’s financial system, the committee had urged Nigerians to be aware that Polaris Bank was in good standing and that there was no reason for fear at this time.
“What the House is looking at is the process of the acquisition or the sale and so far, we are confident from what we are seeing.”
He stated that he would not be in a position to speak authoritatively on the subject until the investigation was complete, but the committee could see that there appeared to be significant compliance.
He advises Nigerians to keep taking it easy, leave their deposits with the bank, and carry on doing business with the bank.
“We feel that as a responsible House, we would look at the process and that is how we oversight the sector and that is what we are looking at” he concluded.
