Trouble For Heritage Bank Over Senate President Bukola Saraki’s Interest

There is fire on the mountain for financial institution striving to find it feet.

And this is linked to the interest of  senate president Bukola Saraki.

Here are the details

 

If news filtering around town is anything to go by, then Heritage Bank PLC may possibly heads bank into extinction.

The reason is not far-fetched, the Sarakis’ are on the prowl again as the family’s influence on the bank may be the major reason for another premature death of the new bank.

Days ago, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, the wife of Nigeria’s Senate President Bukola Saraki was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and she has been highly crucified for allowing a huge crowd to accompany her to the headquarters of the anti-graft agency.

She was recently grilled by the EFCC, but she visited the office of the anti-graft agency with an entourage that included some senators, and not surprisingly the Group Head, Corporate Affairs of Heritage Bank, Mr Fela Ibidapo, a situation many Nigerians have also condemned.

Mrs. Saraki is being investigated for alleged money laundering which reports claimed, occurred while she was the First Lady of Kwara State.

And what surprise many apart the senators is the presence of Ibidapo. Many believe that his presence at EFCC with Mrs Saraki is a sign that the bank is truly back in the hands of its former looters (the Sarakis) before it was resurrected again in 2013 with a new name.

It could also be recalled that The high-handedness of the Saraki family ran aground the Societé-Generale Bank years ago and till date, they are yet to answer to the charges against them. Even when charges of corruption were brought against Bukola Saraki, his sister, Gbemisola and others in 1990, their late father, Dr. Abubakar Olushola Saraki allegedly used his clout to shield them from the law. While the others appeared in court, none of the Sarakis ever did.

Heritage Bank commenced operations in March 2013. The deposit money bank was formed from the defunct Societe Generale Bank of Nigeria (SGBN) and was granted a regional banking licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).