Nord CEO accuses Stanbic IBTC of sabotage, says bank advised customer against buying locally-made vehicles

Oluwatobi Ajayi, chief executive officer (CEO) of Nord Motion, a local vehicle assembly firm, has accused Stanbic IBTC Bank of advising a potential customer of the automaker against purchasing its vehicle. 

In a post on X, Ajayi said the potential client, an entrepreneur in the oil and gas industry, approached Stanbic IBTC regarding buying a vehicle from the firm.

However, he said the unnamed person was told that the bank does not finance Nigerian-made vehicles and was advised to buy foreign brands instead.

“A business owner in the oil and gas sector approached us that he would like to buy two units of the @nordmotion Max pickup for his company. Apparently, he was impressed with the vehicle after some rides with his peers in the sector,” he said.

“To my shock, yesterday, my team told me that the bank, a bank operating in Nigeria told him that they do not finance Made-in-Nigeria vehicles, and they even suggested to our customer that he should go for foreign brands instead.

“The most provocative part of this is that all of the brands they suggested to him identified as Made-in-Nigeria brands in their filings with the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). Which means they decide who they want to be whenever it suits them.”

Ajayi said the situation was yet another example of the “needless sabotage” and “institutional bias” against Nigerian manufacturers and assemblers that is experience in this sector.

“The President aims to grow us into a $1 trillion economy. Nigerians want to buy Made-in-Nigeria products, we are working very hard to produce world-class vehicles, but some banks, who should play the role of credit facilitators, are displaying open prejudice against locally made vehicles,” he said.

“What sort of economic sabotage is this? Many of us who continue to assemble and manufacture vehicles here do so not just for profit, but out of patriotism and belief in the long game. We see this as a marathon, not a sprint.”

The businessman said the country cannot continue using Nigerian resources to strengthen foreign factories while neglecting its own indigenous companies.

He added that if Nigerians genuinely desire the nation’s progress, they must actively support goods and services made in Nigeria, particularly those produced by local companies that have demonstrated world-class standards.

Ajayi emphasised that such support must go beyond rhetoric, reflecting genuine commitment through policies, financing, and concrete action.

“Every time we deny support for local production, we export jobs, skills, and economic growth that should belong here,” he said.

‘BANK DEBITED N700M FROM OUR ACCOUNT IN APRIL’

Ajayi also said in April, Stanbic IBTC unilaterally debited N700 million from “our account without any court order”.

He said the bank had been “a terrible business partner to us at Nord for many years”.

The entrepreneur added that “we cut most ties with them in early 2023,” conducting only minor transactions with the bank thereafter.

“Earlier this year, in April, they unilaterally debited 700 million NGN from our account without any court order. We didn’t borrow money from them,” he said.

“They claimed that the LC we took in 2022, which was fully paid at the prevailing exchange rate of about 430 to 480 NGN offered to us by the same bank, was no longer valid, and that we now had to pay at over 1,600 NGN, for transactions that we had longed closed and sold the vehicles at prices that reflect the 430 NGN to 480 NGN official exchange rate.

“They argued that they didn’t receive the LC USD from the CBN and that we somehow owed them. We immediately agreed to take the matter to court.”

While the case was ongoing, Ajayi said the bank “illegally debited” N700 million from Nord Motion’s account without notice, adding that the “ambush was unbelievably unethical”.

“We are currently in court over this matter. I know justice can be slow, but I am committed to fighting this battle to the end, it will be a strong and patient fight,” he said.

Bridget Oyefeso-Odusami, head, marketing and communications, Stanbic IBTC, did not respond to TheCable’s enquiry on Ajayi’s sabotage allegation.

Also, on the court case, Oyefeso-Odusami said she is “not permitted to speak about it”.