In the past months, we had exercised restraint and deliberately avoided joining issues with peddlers of false and malicious allegations against our Bank; but our continuous silence may have been misconstrued, hence the need to set the records straight.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON PREMIUMTRUST BANK
PremiumTrust Bank was licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in December 2021 to operate as a Commercial Bank in Nigeria, but officially opened for business in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State on the 19th of April 2022. Two (2) other branches were opened in quick succession in line with the Bank’s branch expansion strategy.
Subsequently, on the 30th of May 2022, the Bank opened its 4th Branch along Mariam Babangida Way, Asaba, Delta State – The Branch was dedicated and declared open by the General Overseer of RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye on the invitation of our MD/CEO, Mr. Emmanuel Emefienim with the Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa and other dignitaries in attendance.
As at date, four (4) additional branches in Abuja, Ado-Ekiti, Warri and Redemption City (Ogun State) have been opened bringing the total number of branches to eight (8) within nine (9) months of operations.
PremiumTrust Bank has a vision to be the most preferred bank by 2027 and a leading voice in consumer banking in Africa by 2032.
OWNERSHIP OF PREMIUMTRUST BANK
There have been wild allegations on various media platforms insinuating that the Executive Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa owns or has interest in PremiumTrust Bank. These allegations are false and unfounded. We state categorically that neither Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa nor any of his associates are shareholders or directors in PremiumTrust Bank whether directly or indirectly.
For the records, PremiumTrust Bank was founded by our MD/CEO, Emmanuel Emefienim (an accomplished Banker with over 30 years top level experience) alongside seasoned and well diversified entrepreneurs who have distinguished themselves in various fields and endeavors. Please note that information on ownership and directorship of our Bank is in the public domain and available on our website {www.premiumtrustbank.com}.
FALSE ALLEGATIONS BY ORTEGA OGHENEDORO A.K.A FEJIRO OLIVER
On the 19th of February 2023, one Ortega Oghenedoro a.k.a Fejiro Oliver posted on his twitter handle that PremiumTrust Bank was floated with Delta State funds of N850 billion. We also noted that this has been reposted and circulated on several other social media platforms. This misleading and misguided statement clearly has no basis or iota of truth in it, as Delta State Government does not have any ownership interest in our Bank.
Re: Movement Of $3.2million And N2billion Cash To Government House, Asaba
In the same mischievous post, Ortega Oghenedoro alleged in his tweet (via his twitter handle: @fejirooliver86) as reproduced below;
“Around 7:45am this morning, six bullion vans escorted by the military carried N2billion cash in the new currency notes and $3.2 million dollars straight to meet the PDP Vice Presidential candidate, Gov@iaokowa. They took the money from his PremiumTrust Bank to Govt House”
This is the height of falsehood as it is impracticable for such cash movements to have been made by our Bank.
For the avoidance of doubt, total monies in old and new notes allotted by CBN in eleven instalments to our Asaba Branch from December 20, 2022 to date is less than N470million. All of the monies received are dispensed via our Six (6) ATMs at Asaba Branch and across the counter in line with the CBN Policy.
It is pertinent to note that cash disbursement reports are rendered daily to CBN for monitoring and compliance. These false allegations are therefore baseless and lack substance.
In view of all of the above, it is obvious that there is a clear intent by Ortega Oghenedoro and his associates to tarnish the image of the PremiumTrust Bank at a time when the bank has been enjoying excellent media reviews and customers’ positive testimonials in respect of its implementation of the CBN cash swap and re-design policy.
However, we wish to clearly state that despite the falsehoods and campaigns of calumny against our brand, the public has continued to applaud our commitment to the implementation of the CBN Policy, which has led to a significant increase in customer acquisition.
It is a well-known fact that in all of our branches, ATMs have continuously dispensed new currency notes on a 24/7 basis; we have also continued to make over-the-counter payments to the general public in line with CBN guidelines.
FALSE ALLEGATIONS BY DAILY POST AND THISDAY ONLINE MEDIA PLATFORMS
We have further noted some spurious syndicated and unverified publications circulated by the Daily Post and Thisday online media platforms on 14th and 16th February 2023 respectively wherein it was alleged that certain politically branded vehicles were parked at the PremiumTrust Bank branch in Asaba to cause mayhem in Delta State. Again, we state categorically that this information is false and unfounded as we are a law-abiding organization. Our Branch premises at Asaba is always open to customers and vehicles parked within the premises are visible from outside. More importantly, PremiumTrust Bank exhibits the highest level of professionalism in its business and is not aligned with any political party.
Considering the intended damage of these allegations to the PremiumTrust brand, we have engaged our team of lawyers to seek necessary redress and remedies against peddlers of these false and malicious accusations.
OUR COMMITMENT – TOGETHER FOR GROWTH
Notwithstanding the aforesaid, we want to thank our teeming customers who have remained loyal to our brand, and we reinforce our commitment to serve and provide the best banking services. We therefore urge the entire public to disregard these condescending untruths.
PremiumTrust Bank has continued to create value for its stakeholders and Nigeria as a country and prides itself on best banking practices and professionalism. This is exemplified by its most recent awards to wit:-
Nigeria’s Fastest Growing Bank 2022 – awarded by the Management of BusinessDay Banks & Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards Committee
Bank of The Year 2022 (Sports Development) – awarded by the Management of BusinessDay Banks & Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards Committee
Nigeria’s most Innovative Bank 2022 – awarded by Leadership Media Awards.
These recent awards are proof that the disruptive way the bank is carrying out its operations has not gone unnoticed.
By this press release, we advise the public to disregard these unfounded and false allegations as we seek to remain a valuable partner to all our Stakeholders – “Together for Growth”.
FOR: PREMIUMTRUST BANK
COMPANY SECRETARY
Chukwuemeka Nwaogu
