CBN threatens DMBs over non-remittance of NCDMB fund

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said it would sanction Money Deposit Banks, MDBs, still collecting payments under the Nigerian Content Development Fund without remitting same to dedicated account opened for the fund at the apex bank.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele issued this warning in Lagos on Monday at the stakeholders’ forum, organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB.

Emefiele, who was represented by Jack Ukitefu, Deputy Director, Banking and Payments Systems Department, said the bank would collaborate with the agency to identify the defaulting banks.

He said that the infraction by the bank was a violation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy and promised to punish such banks, adding that the operations of the TSA began in 2015 and that all ministries, departments and agencies should have complied.

According to him, CBN will not hesitate to sanction any of the banks identified in the act because it is viewed as a very serious offence.

In his own remark, Simbi Wabote, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, said the NCDF was established by Section 104 of the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010.

Wabote said that the Act provided that one per cent of every contract in the upstream sector of the Nigeria oil and gas industry shall be deducted at source and paid into the fund.

The executive secretary said that the agency had been working to create the operating model for utilisation of the fund and had established the NCDF Advisory Committee for efficient governance of the fund, creating confidence and trust of industry stakeholders.

“The board opened up the fund for utilisation from 2013, based on the approved operating model that segmented 70 per cent of the fund to finance commercial interventions and 30 per cent for developmental initiatives and activities carried out by the board on behalf of the industry.

He said the introduction of the TSA policy by the Federal Government and the need to deepen accessibility of the fund for critical activities created the need to re-engineer the operating model of NCDF.