SunTrust Bank Denies Withholding National Assembly Workers’ Salaries

SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited has distanced itself from allegation that it was responsible for the delay in paying salaries and allowances of legislative aides to the lawmakers, which according to report in some online media led to the death of one of the aides.

The bank’s Executive Director, Finance and Risk Management, Usman Abdulqadir, said this at a media briefing Lagos yesterday.

Abdulqadir stressed that as a commercial bank duly licenced by the CBN, the financial institution has executed all mandates given to it with respect to making payment on behalf of its customers promptly.

He pointed out that as a financial institution, it does not have any mandate it has not carried out.

“In this vein, as banker to some of the National Assembly (NASS) accounts, the bank has received the mandate to make payments to various beneficiaries and those payments have since been relayed, some via Remita, to the relevant banks.

“We advise that any persons who are yet to receive payments executed by us should have first checked with his / her bankers to trace where such payments are held. We categorically restate that we do not fail to honour any obligation to our clients.

“We also deeply regret that an individual has lost his life. We extend our deepest condolences to his immediate family and the entire NASS family,” he added.

Legislative Aides to lawmakers had on Tuesday stages a wide protest in the National Assembly over delays in payment of their salaries and allowances. The protesters who carried placards and obituary pictures said they were protesting the death of a legislative aide.