The wave of controversy that trailed the publication of the names of banks' debtors has continued to build as FCMB has been accused of blackmail.
Senator Lanre Tejouso, on Sunday, August 9, accused the management of First City Monument Bank (FCMB) of blackmail for publishing his name among its list of debtors.
The senator representing Ogun Central in the upper chamber said his company, Suzzatej Nigeria Limited, never had any banking relationship with FCMB.
He described the newspaper publication wherein his photograph was used as malicious, saying his lawyers were studying it preparatory to seeking legal redress.
He stated that the loan in question, amounting to N84, 808,660.48, was obtained by his company from Midas Bank before it was acquired by FCMB and supported with appropriate collateral.
He exonerated his company from FCMB’s allegation of indebtedness as published in one of the national dailies.
In a statement in Abuja at the weekend, Tejuoso said: “The practice all over the world is for a bank to take recourse to the collateral pledged for a loan in default. This is expected in a decent society, and not attempted ridicule of company directors.”
He also said that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) had since made recourse to collateral pledged by the company having taken over the non-performing loan in 2012.
Tejuoso said he supports the drive to recover all unserviceable loans in the banking sector, “but this must be after the securities pledged cannot recover the said loans.”