Zenith Bank begs for Fayose's forgiveness after disparaging him

The worst thing that can happen to a corporate organization is to get itself enmeshed in political tension. Politicians should be left to ply their trade. Zenith Bank of Nigeria is learning this the hard way. 

The controversy all started when the EFCC accused Governor Fayose of partaking in the Arms Deal Funds. According to the spokesperson of the Commission, about 1.3 Billion Naira, being part of the Arms Fund, was traced to the personal accounts of the Ekiti State Governor. As a result, the Commission "directed" that his personal bankers, Zenith Bank, places a "restriction" on the accounts. 

Further to the "directives", Zenith Bank notified Fayose in addition to implementing the Commission's directives. However, this did not go down well with the charismatic Governor who have been a voice for the nearly silenced opposition, PDP. In a statement released by the Governor as of the time of the directive, the Governor lampooned the EFCC and the presidency. He said inter alia that the "[Federal] Government has no respect for the constitution" since by virtue of Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999 (as amended) he enjoys immunity from prosecution.

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He further stated thus:

“I support government fighting corruption, but it has to be within the ambit of the law. You can investigate me; it is their right, but they have to wait till 2018 because I will be done by then. They should not be in a hurry because I will personally come to them for investigation. “I have become a public figure in this country that I don’t have anywhere to run to. This rascality of EFCC must stop. If they like, let them investigate the whole world. Is it because they are the sitting government now that nobody can ask them questions? We will take every legal procedure to get things right. “I am not leaving this bank until they give me a statement of account. They must put it into writing because EFCC has no right under the law to freeze my account. They did not communicate with me. They want to destabilize the state, and we will use all legal means to make them obey the constitution. They can investigate me, but they can’t coerce me.”

In reaction to the outburst of the governor, the Commission had justified the directive to freeze the accounts on the pending investigation against the person of the governor, especially as it relates the use of the Arms Deal Funds to fund his campaign.

It is this particular allegation by the EFCC that necessitated Fayose to suggest to the public that his election campaign was funded by the Zenith Bank of Nigeria and other donations. The governor emphatically stated that he “has no financial transaction whatsoever with the office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) under Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) and the former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro either in cash, cheque or electronic transfer.” He rather stated that “the management of Zenith Bank, which majorly funded my election, called me to a meeting where I was assured that fund will be provided for my election.”

However, Zenith Bank swiftly refuted the claim of the Governor that it funded his campaign. The denial was made known through a tweet from one of Nigeria’s media outfit: Sahara Reporters.

 What is not known however is why the same management of Zenith Bank makes an about-turn to beg Fayose. In a recent video and pictures released, it could be seen some persons identified as officials of the bank begging and kneeling down before Fayose and begging him to forgive them. And of course, the propaganda master did not shy away from catching it on camera. 

The team was led by an Executive Director of the Bank, Shola Oladipupo.

Besides the adverse effect this situation may have on the operations of Zenith Bank, it is also illegal for a company registered under the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004 (Nigeria) to make financial contribution to any political party or for a political purpose pursuant to Section 34(2). Therefore, besides the effect on the bank's public image, it also risks being sanctioned by the Corporate Affairs Commission (Nigeria)