Ecobank Nigeria Limited says it would continue to strongly resist any attempt to use a frivolous N72 billion claim to derail it from continuing to pursue the recovery of monies owed and overdue for payment by Honeywell Group.

The bank, in a statement signed by management of the bank, said contrary to the picture being painted by Honeywell Group, it is unhindered by the continued attempts to coerce the public into believing that the Honeywell Group has fully paid its overdue debt.

The statement reads: “Ecobank’s attention has been drawn to several media reports stating that the Honeywell Group has filed a suit claiming damages against Ecobank in the sum of N72billion.

“We wish to state that Ecobank is unhindered by the continued attempts to coerce the public into believing that the Honeywell Group has fully paid its overdue indebtedness.

“It is noteworthy that Honeywell’s recent claim for damages was published and serialised in the news media even before the bank was served with the court papers, which clearly elicits the ‘motive’ of a party owing huge sums of money. Indeed the purport of the matter is most curious especially as there are other pending matters in court which remain undecided.

“Ecobank is the Pan African bank with representation across 36 countries. The Ecobank Group supports various businesses in all the countries in which it operates while holding customer deposits in safe trust. In the same vein, Ecobank is resolute that the businesses it supports should also honour their obligations when due. This is the crux of the demand on the Honeywell Group to pay their debts in full.

“While the matters are in court, being a responsible corporate citizen, the bank reiterated its commitment in allowing due process to prevail in court rather than use the news media.

“Our resolve is to fight to ensure that debtors fully honour their obligations after benefiting from credit facilities which helped to grow their businesses.”