Tax: Ekiti Internal Revenue Board shuts GTBank

The Ekiti State Board of Internal Revenue has sealed Guaranty Trust Bank GTBank and Ecobank, both located at Secretariat Road in Ado-Ekiti.
Officials of the board stormed the banks early on Wednesday, taking workers and customers unawares.
The closure was said to be in connection with the inability of the banks to remit their taxes.
An official of one of the banks, who pleaded anonymity because he was not authorised to talk on the issue, said that government had recently directed the two banks to submit documents relating to their deductions on withholding tax.
Confirming the sealing up of the banks, the state’s Commissioner for Information, Mr Lanre Ogunsuyi, said that government’s action was within the ambit of the law.
Ogunsuyi said that court granted the government power to seal the affected banks until they paid their taxes.
He said that the order was given by the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, on May 17.
The commissioner, however, appealed to customers of the two banks to show understanding with government on the issue, expressing hope that the matter would be resolved soonest.