By George Elia

Keystone Bank has clarified that it froze the account of ‘Take Back Naija’, a support group of Peter Obi, Labour Party presidential candidate, because of regulatory guidelines from the bank’s supervisor.

Keystone Bank added that funds in the account have also been returned to donors in line with the directive of the bank’s supervisor.

In a statement issued by Keystone Bank’s management and made available to newsmen on Monday, it said though the bank recognizes the rights of citizens to freely associate in pursuit of common goals, it was imperative it acted within the prescribed guidelines.

The statement read, “In line with applicable regulatory guidelines on the treatment of such accounts with irregularities, funds received into this account have been returned to their sources of origin.
“While we recognize the right of every citizen of our country to freely associate in pursuit of common objectives, we also believe as an institution that is subject to supervisory regulations, it is imperative we act within the confines of prescribed guidelines in all our dealings.
“Keystone Bank is open to doing business with every Nigerian irrespective of background or beliefs. But we also owe the public a duty to conduct our business in a safe manner.”

The media on Thursday reported that one of Mr Obi’s support groups, Take Back Naija, TBN, had accused the Central Bank Of Nigeria CBN of freezing the account with Keystone bank, in what the group described as  ‘much’ money found in the campaign account of the group. 

TBN had claimed the ‘much’ donations from Nigerians into their campaign account were freely given by youths who were committed to seeing that the presidential candidate of the Labour Party becomes president come the 2023 election.

In a statement titled ‘FGN’s Sanctioning and blocking of TBN’S Bank Account’ signed and sent to media houses, the group’s spokesman, Danjuma Garba Musa, said the action of the federal government through the CBN was against the fundamentals of democracy and the rights of the citizens to participate in the electoral process of their country.

Danjuma Garba Musa disclosed that TBN’s Keystone Bank account which is used for grassroots mobilization was frozen and when the group inquired, they were made to understand the order came from the CBN.