- As EFCC hunts banks, developers for N100bn housing loan scam
The Lagos State Government on Monday indicated that it’s desire to introduce the Electronic Billing System, popularly called the ‘e-fine’ is essentially to ensure sanity on the State roads, rather than to raise revenue or punish road users.
The State Government gave the indication in a statement issued by the Ministry of Transportation Director of Public Affairs, Bola Fagunwa, noting that the fines which ranges from N20, 000 to N250, 000 only depending on the offence and the number of times such a person has been apprehended, was yet to be enforced.
” The introduction of the regime of e-tickets is not punitive as the State Government will prefer obedience to the law leading to sanity on the road than all the financial resources that could accrue from the exercise.
“Road infraction fines are of general application and not specific to any group of motorists. The Ministry of Transportation and its Agencies are determined to ensure compliance to the provisions of the State’s Road Traffic Law 2012 and will do so mindful of the right of citizens”, Fagunwa posited, adding that the statement became necessary, sequel to responses from the social media, largely drawing attention to fines due to re-certification of drivers by Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI).
“While the statement stipulates fines and what offences attract fines as if they are new, we will like to state that Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Vehicle Inspection Services (VIS) will only continue to operate within the confines of the Traffic Law of 2012 and not on any new rules.
“It is our hope that people become conversant with the provisions of the law rather than be caught in the web of mitigating consequences of disobeying the law.
“The system is not new or specific to the Ministry. It is the fines and fees segment of the central Billing System of the State Government that has come into effect a few months earlier.
“The use of e – tickets is not just taking off.
“As part of the Central Billing System adopted by the Lagos State Government to manage its revenue process, the fines imposed by Agencies under the Ministry of Transportation has been changed to e – ticketing.
“The Electronic Billing System, an automation system, involves removal of hand written tickets and its replacement with an electronically generated fine ticket which makes it less susceptible to human frailties.
“The introduction, which is to be generally implemented by all the agencies of the State Government, is already being implemented by concerned agencies including the Ministry of Transportation of which LASTMA and Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) are part.
“Fines to be paid are in accordance with the provisions of the Lagos State Road Traffic Law 2012 schedule I dealing with “Traffic Offences Penalties”. The fines ranges from N20, 000.00 (Twenty Thousand Naira) only to N250, 000.00 (Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira) only depending on the offence and the number of times such a person has been apprehended.
“While noting that the Ministry of Transportation is committed to promoting the culture of safety and security on the road, we urge the general public to be obedient to the officials who are to see to management on traffic on the road as well as obey all regulations and rules as established by the Ministry in its quest for sanity on Lagos roads”, the statement concluded.
In the meantime, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has focused its attention on developers and primary mortgage banks that obtained housing loans to the tune of N100bn from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, but misappropriated the funds.
The Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, promised the FMBN that the anti-graft agency would help the bank to recover the funds when the acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Richard Esin, led his team to the corporate headquarters of the EFCC in Abuja.
The EFCC said on its official Facebook page that Esin applauded Magu for his achievements in the fight against corruption.
The statement read in part, “He (Esin) said the bank had come to identify with the commission and to also plea for the assistance of the EFCC to intervene and recover about N100bn which is in the hands of developers and primary mortgage banks.
“Magu appreciated the management of the bank for the visit and assured them that the commission would do everything within its mandate to assist the bank and prevent it from going under.”
In a separate statement, Esin informed the anti-graft boss that but for the resilience of the bank, it would not have been able to meet the financial requests of Nigerians, including employees of the EFCC, because of fraudulent partner developers.
According to FMBN’s acting MD, fraudulent partner developers have a huge debt overhang with the bank, explaining that they obtained construction finance from the bank to build estates, but diverted the funds into other non-productive and non-regenerative activities.
He further stated that some developers completed the estates, sold the housing units and failed to remit the sales proceeds to the bank.
Esin said some primary mortgage banks, which obtained funds from the bank for mortgage finances for on-lending to qualified National Housing Fund contributors, failed to disburse the funds to the applicants, while others obtained equity contribution from would-be mortgagors but refused to deploy same in the provision of mortgage finances to the applicants’ benefit.
The bank MD expressed worry that despite the revocation of their operation alliances, some of the operators of the primary mortgage banks were still deceptively encouraging innocent and unsuspecting mortgagors to continue to repay their mortgages to them through fictitious accounts with no intention of remitting same to the FMBN.
He appealed to Magu to assist in the recovery of bank funds from contractors and vendors who were mobilised to execute various contracts for the bank, but failed to execute same and misappropriated the bank’s money.
He said, “Their activities are fraudulent, and constitute financial crimes. We, therefore, seek the EFCC’s kind assistance in the recovery of these funds which belong to the Nigerian workers.”
Speaking further, Esin informed Magu that his management was committed to helping the workers of the commission to own houses, noting that after the Memorandum of Understanding between both organisations, the FMBN had disbursed N3bn in 10 batches to 156 employees of the EFCC.
He added that N1.6bn worth of NHF loans for 113 workers of the EFCC packaged by the FGMB were awaiting board approval, while N1.3bn had been approved as NHF loans for EFCC workers, but not disbursed because the targeted houses were no longer available.
Additional report from Punch
