The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding a N200 million unrepaid loan allegedly granted to 120 teachers in Ogun State by a commercial bank in 2011. The commission has invited the affected teachers, through the Ogun State’s Teaching Service Commission (FESCOM) to Lagos for interrogation.
The teachers, who are mainly from secondary schools in Abeokuta South Local Government Area of the state, have denied ever receiving any from the bank. They are claiming that majority of them had no accounts with the financial institution. A source in TESCOM who pleaded anonymity also confirmed that the commission (TESCOM) had no account with the bank.
According to the source, “the story of the N200m loan was still a mystery to many of us. We do not have any account with the bank. We have asked the teachers to go and honour the invitation of the EFCC just to clear their names. The state government has made available the buses that will convey them to Lagos and a legal team that will accompany them.”
One of the affected teachers, who craved anonymity, said that “we suspect that a fraud has been perpetrated somewhere. Many of us don’t have accounts with the bank, yet they said we took loans and failed to repay. How can that be? Some of the affected teachers have retired while others are still in service. EFCC should beam its searchlight on the bankers.
“This issue has been on for some time. They (TESCOM) just sent text messages to invite us recently. They called others on the telephone. They said we are going to EFCC to respond to allegation that we took loans and did not repay. They said they will arrange a bus to carry us to EFCC.”
By Dike Onwuamaeze
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