Renowned for championing the cause of transparency and accountability in public service, the Citizens Committee for corruption-free Nigeria (CCCN) has tasked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe into the allegations of corruption, ineptitude, abuse of office and financial recklessness it has leveled against Mr. Abubakar Abba Bello, the Managing Director of Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM).

In a petition addressed to the Chairman of the anti-graft agency and signed by the Director of Anti-Corruption Unit of the CCCN, Bagudu Mohammed, the group fingered Bello for corporate fraud concerning the 50 Billion Naira rediscounting and refinancing facility provided by the Federal Government by approving loans for himself and other top management members of the bank through the use of proxy companies and depositing part of it in fixed deposit accounts and sharing on monthly basis, interest accruing therefrom.

The petition similarly described as fraudulent, Bello's claim to have disbursed 22 Billion Naira as loans from the 500 Billion Naira stimulation facility domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria saying it was disbursed with the sole intent of receiving kickbacks.

Determined to sustain its anti-corruption Crusade especially against public office holders, the CCCN further accused Bello of skyrocketing the loan approval limit for the MD of NEXIM Bank and two other Executive Directors from One Hundred Million Naira (N100M) to Two Hundred and Fifty Million Naira (N250M) indicating an increase of one hundred and fifty percent (150%) so as to fraudulently amass to himself and his conspirators, large sums of public funds for unjustifiable reasons in the disguise of loan disbursement.

The petition has similarly questioned the leadership credibility of the NEXIM Bank Boss whose work experience has largely been tied to banking and not development financing while lamenting further that non of the Executive Directors have got basic knowledge of banking which have monumentally contributed to the Bank's current inability to manage liabilities and undertake projects of economic significance as it used to be the case.

Under the management hands of Abubakar Abba Bello, the petitioners said the international trade bank has lost its glorious reputation due to gross ineptitude and an insatiable desire for corporate fraud and corruption and have called on the EFCC to recover the illegally shared funds as well as those in fixed accounts with the interests accruing on them, while also undertaking a probe into beneficiary companies of the bank and the shadow directors behind them. The petitioners were bold to finally call for the arrest, investigation, and prosecution of the NEXIM Bank MD and his cohorts.

Nexim has been a disappointment in every sense of it.