How NFC Bank Acquired Premises At University of Bamenda Campus

- Prof Tafah’s Alleged Involvement Dismissed

 

Ngamfon Zacharia Awanga was Board Chairman of the National Financial Credit, NFC Bank when authorities of ENS and ENSET (Higher Teachers’ Training College and Higher Technical Teachers’ Training College), all in Bambili made a request. It was Prof Matthew Gwanfobe (ENS Director) and Kenneth Mengjo Lukong (ENSET Director), whom Chronicle has been told, came knocking at the doors of NFC Bank. To ease the stress which students had been going through in bank transactions, both officials foxed out the deal, even before the University of Bamenda was created. Yet, today, detractors hold that because Prof Tafah is a board member of NFC, he had since exploited his appointment to strike a deal.

Last week, the University of Bamenda, UBa authorities presented a disclaimer to Chronicle. The one-pager, signed last June 11, 2012 by Prof Tafah Edokat, UBa VC dissociates himself from any negotiations for UBa campus to host an NFC Bank complex. Prof Tafah instead gave powers to Prof Mathew Gwanfobe, Kenneth Lukong and Richard Mbifi, to finalize negotiations of a deal he was not party to it, at the start.

The NFC bank issue, has been one of the thorny issues, which Chronicle gathered, had been used by Prof Tafah’s opponents to nail him. Accordingly, they advance that being a son of Oshie as the founder Awanga and moreso a board member of NFC, he must have a deal for the bank to operate on the campus of UBa. Yet, what is the actual situation.

NFC Bank On UBa Campus:

The Intricacies

When Chronicle rang Zacharia Awanga last Saturday June 23, 2012 at 9.44a.m, he answered in Ndjamena-Chad. Awanga confessed to Chronicle on phone that as Board chairman of NFC Bank some 2 years ago, he was approached by authorities of ENS and ENSET Bambili. He said he yielded to their request to open a branch of his bank at their institution in Bambili. He said there were in talks and a memorandum was to be signed. He added that both authorities had even allocated a building, which NFC would refurbish as part of the deal to operate.

Awanga is no more Board Chairman of NFC Bank. Instead, it is Lucas Agwara Afambele. When Chronicle stormed the University of Bamenda last Thursday June 21, 2012 to carry out its investigations, Afambele was actively at work. Chronicle spotted him supervising finishing at the NFC structures at the UBa campus.

Afambele told Chronicle that he had come to actualize a deal, which was hatched by his predecessor. He said contrary to allegations that NFC Bank stroke a deal because Prof Tafah had been made Vice Chancellor, it was less so. He said it was the ENS and ENSET Directors who foxed out the deal, even before the University of Bamenda was created and a Vice Chancellor appointed.

By press time, Chronicle learnt that the signing had been actualized. Afambele told Chronicle that all the three parties to have finalized the deal, signed except Dr. Kenneth Lukong.  He said Dr. Lukong was in Kumbo for the official visit of the North West Governor to Bui division: that he would pulsate in same line as his other collaborators.

Chronicle gathered that last Friday June 22, both Prof Mathew Gwanfobe of ENS and Richard Mbifi, acting Deputy Registrar of Administrative Affairs had endorsed.

According to the deal, the University of Bamenda would reap a lot. Afambele even told Chronicle that NFC Bank had already exhausted some 50 million FCFA for the refurbishment of the building. He posited that according to the agreement, both ENS and ENSET Directors had requested for a need to have a bank on their campus. Chronicle was told that in return, NFC would construct a lawn tennis cord; that students would have easy transactions with the bank on campus, especially with the paying of fees.

With NFC Bank on UBa campus, Afambele told Chronicle that university students/authorities to secure loans would be granted such on a special rate. Moreso, Chronicle was further told that with NFC bank on UBa campus, it would assist the university in varied socio-cultural and academic activities.

The issue of NFC bank having prominence at UBa just because it is Prof Tafah as VC had therefore been seen not only as amiss, but a ploy to discredit the authority of Prof Tafah.

Prof Tafah Vindicated

The witch-hunt at UBa has been total. Yet, the university must exist. Apparently to clear himself from the varied allegation, Prof Tafah last June 11, 2012 came out with a disclaimer. In it, he cleared himself out of the saga, authorizing his collaborators to decide over it. He stated that when it was hatched, he was not part of it; neither was the University of Bamenda created.

Some commentators Chronicle met for their comments on Prof Tafah’s stand averred that he has to remain stringent: that as a man and an authority, he has the latitude to dictate over intricate issues and not be tossed by the nose. NFC bank at UBa, is seen as an elixir to refrain students from the hazards of going to Bamenda for local bank transactions.