Following a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) that it discovered the sum of N258 million stashed in the vault at the Abuja regional office of Sterling Bank Plc, the bank has responded with a cryptic statement seemingly discrediting the ICPC.
The statement by Sterling Bank, which was shared via Twitter on Wednesday, claimed that the “the news media and the government are entwined in a vicious circle of mutual manipulation, mythmaking, and self-interest.”
Quoting the Assistant Managing Editor of Fortune Magazine Paul H beaver, the statement by Sterling Bank implied that the report by the ICPC was false and that the media ‘blindly’ reported it.
Sterling Bank Debunks Allegations Of Cash Hoarding By ICPC
Interestingly, the statement did not categorically deny the allegation. Instead, it urged that journalists should desist from ‘dramatising’ the development. Part of the statement said:
“Too often, the crises are joint fabrications. The two institutions have become so ensnared in a symbiotic web of lies that the news media are unable to tell the public what is true, and the government is unable to govern effectively.”
The news media and the government are entwined in a vicious circle of mutual manipulation, mythmaking, and self-interest. Journalists need crises to dramatize news, and government officials need to appear to be responding to crises.
— Sterling Bank Plc (@Sterling_Bankng) February 8, 2023
Source: Nairametrics