The Managing Director of the Bank, Olalekan Pitan said the recovery drive had already began though some of the debtors, including those without a case have taken the bank to court over it.
The bank was queried over the debt in the 2015 Auditor Generals report.
At the resumed hearing of the Public Accounts Committee) (PAC), Pitan said the bank complied with the directives of the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) on the recovery of the debt.
Pitan, who recently assumed office as MD of the Bank said the AGF asked the bank to either publish the names of the debtors in three national dailies or recover the debt.
In compliance with the directives of the AGF, Pitan said the recovery efforts began immediately with the publication of the names of the debtors in three national newspapers.
“In addition, we have recovered some money, some of the companies were reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for recovery.
“Also, some of them have subjected the recovery to litigation while the properties of some of them are on the verge of being sold.”
When asked to provide exact figures recovered so far, as well as the names of the companies that have taken the bank to court, Pitan said he could not provide the details at the sitting as he had to consult his records.
On the N2.7 billion YouWin fund domiciled with the bank for disbursement since 2012, Pitan said the bank could only access N870 million out of which N129 million was returned to the treasury through the Treasury Single Account in 2015.
Chairman of the Committee, Honourable Kingsley Chinda said the House was worried about the huge debt that could affect the objectives of the bank meant to boost the economy.
The committee however requested the Bank to furnish it with details of the recovery of the debt as well as furnish it with the details of transactions on the YouWin programme.
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