From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Bank customers have berated Imo Governor Hope Uzodinma over the sealing of certain banks in the state capital, Owerri, by state authorities.
Officials of the Owerri Capital Development Authority (OCDA) had on Tuesday morning sealed certain banks over building approval violations.
Some of the banks sealed include Access, Polaris, First Bank, Eco Bank and UBA situated along the bank road/Okigwe road and weathdral road respectively.
As a result of the action, hundreds of bank customers and staff have been left stranded.
An Access Bank customer who identified himself as Chukwuka asked: ‘How could the state government just wake up one morning to seal a bank over the flimsy excuse that a bank that has been carrying on its business in a particular building for over twenty years has no building approval ? Was it not the same OCDA that gave its approval to the buildings? Many people who have come here to transact one business or the other with the bank are just stranded.’
Okolie Julius, a customer of the UBA, accused the state government of being insensitive to the plight of the people of the state.
According to him, ‘this government is not sensitive to the suffering of the people other wise, they could not have sealed the banks to deny customers access to carrying out their legitimate business . We are still suffering the fuel problem in the state which is a consequence of the government refusal to dialogue with the petroleum marketers in the state . This government is just punishing the people of the state for whatever reasons best known to it.’
Another aggrieved bank customer complained that since the start of the Uzodinma administration it has been one problem or the other.
A staff of one of the sealed banks who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Daily Sun that officials of the OCDA have been harassing the banks since the inception of this administration over sundry development levies.
‘Since the inception of this administration, the OCDA and other officials of the state government have been harassing banks over a plethora of levies. OCDA is now claiming that the building which is housing the bank has no approval, thbut don’t forget the building they are talking about was built during the administration of Ikedi Ohakim and it the same OCDA that gave approval for the building. Is it not funny for the same OCDA sealing the same building for not obtaining an approval?’