Following a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) that it discovered the sum of N258 million stashed in the vault at the Abuja regional office of Sterling Bank Plc, the bank has responded with a cryptic statement seemingly discrediting the ICPC.
The statement by Sterling Bank, which was shared via Twitter on Wednesday, claimed that the “the news media and the government are entwined in a vicious circle of mutual manipulation, mythmaking, and self-interest.”
Alleged manipulation: Quoting the Assistant Managing Editor of Fortune Magazine Paul H beaver, the statement by Sterling Bank implied that the report by the ICPC was false and that the media ‘blindly’ reported it.
Interestingly, the statement did not categorically deny the allegation. Instead, it urged that journalists should desist from ‘dramatising’ the development. Part of the statement said:
- “Too often, the crises are joint fabrications. The two institutions have become so ensnared in a symbiotic web of lies that the news media are unable to tell the public what is true, and the government is unable to govern effectively.”
The backstory: Nairametrics earlier reported that the ICPC said it discovered the sum of N258 million stashed in the vault at the Abuja regional head office of Sterling Bank Plc.
- The anti-graft agency also revealed that both the bank’s Regional and Service managers were arrested and later granted administrative bail while the investigation continues.
- The ICPC assured that the Federal Government will continue to fight against naira hoarding.
- The discovery of the stashed naira notes at Sterling Bank’s Abuja regional office is coming at a time when Nigerians across the country have been enduring long queues at ATMs and banking halls in a desperate bid to access cash.
- Amid the cash scarcity challenge, a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court earlier today temporarily halted plans to completely ban the use of the old naira notes across the country on February 10th.
