Governor Ajimobi shuts down Diamond, Skye, FCMB, Heritage banks, others

Over twenty branches of new generation banks have been sealed over failure to pay the annual environmental levy to the purse of Oyo state government in Ibadan, the state capital.

TOPNAIJA.NG reports that the banks were sealed on Monday.

Our reporter gathered that activities of banking operations in areas such as Dugbe, Mokola, Idi-Ape, Iwo Road, Secretariat Road, Challenge, Jericho, Bodija and UI were totally paralysed on Monday morning when the combined task force team of the Oyo State Inter-ministerial Enforcement Unit swoop on the financial institutions to enforce compliance.

No fewer than twenty different branches of banks in the areas were shut with seal notices as at 9 a.m during the operation.

Some of the affected banks include, Diamond, Stanbic IBTC, Skye, FCMB and Heritage banks.

A source within the government enforcement team who spoke with journalists in confidence informed that the affected banks defaulted in the payment of the annual environmental development levies.

We gathered that prior to today’s operation, the Oyo State Board of Internal Revenue (OYBIR), had last month issued a 14 day ultimate to all taxpayers in the state to pay up all outstanding dues and levies to the coffers of government.

Chairman of the Board, Mr Bicci Alli had warned that the agency would embark on massive enforcement to seal up all erring corporate organisations on the expiration of the ultimatum.

Alli added that the enforcement team decided to focus on banks to serve as deterrent to other defaulting corporate organisations.