Osinbajo expresses confidence in new NDIC board

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed confidence in the ability of the new Board and Management of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) led by Mrs Ronke Sokefun.

Osinbajo was quoted in a statement signed by the Head, Communication and Public Affairs of the Corporation, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, on Tuesday in Abuja.

According to the statement, Osinbajo made the comment when members of the Board and Management of the Corporation visited him in Abuja.

The VP described the board chairman as an experienced lawyer and NDIC’s Managing Director, Umaru Ibrahim as an experienced technocrat that would steer the corporation in the right direction.

Osinbajo commended the management of the corporation for prioritising the interests of Nigerian depositors in its choice of the Bridge Bank option for the resolution of many banks in liquidation.

He however said a lot still needed to be done in the area of sanitising the banking system.

He stressed the need for fresh ideas that would produce a more resilient structure involving the NDIC and other relevant stakeholders to addressing the issue of non-performing loans in the industry.

He also warned that the Federal Government was not prepared to repeat the mistakes of the past in the sector.

On financial inclusion, the vice president said the government was desirous for millions of poor Nigerians to be empowered through the extension of credit.

He therefore urged for a sustainable framework to achieving the objectives set by the regulators.

Osinbajo said the current structure for the operation of Micro-Finance Banks (MFBs) had failed to achieve the desired goals.

He called for concerted efforts of the relevant institutions including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NDIC to come up with a framework that would facilitate the funding of Federal Government social intervention programmes.

He listed some of the programmes to include the N-Power, Trader-Money, and Market-Money, which according to him would alleviate the suffering of millions of Nigerians.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Board thanked the Vice President for his warm reception.

Sokefun recalled that the NDIC as a critical player in the Nigerian financial safety-net, had achieved remarkable success in the execution of its primary mandates of effective supervision of the insured banks.

She said the corporation had also ensured timely payments of insured deposits and the implementation of a robust and efficient failure resolution regime.

She then solicited for the VP’s assistance in ensuring quick passage of the NDIC Ammendment Bill before the Senate.

The NDIC Managing Director, while urging for the speedy passage of the bill, said it would strengthen the ability of the corporation to better perform its mandate.

Ibrahim said: “It will strengthen the capacity of the corporation to effectively supervise insured financial institutions for a safe and sound banking system in the country.”

Commenting further on the activities of the corporation, the NDIC boss said the NDIC carried out periodic examination of banks in collaboration with the CBN.

He said the regulators then issued reports with far reaching recommendations to the boards of banks for compliance to ensure the safety, soundness and stability of the Nigerian banking system.

He also reiterated efforts of the regulators to sanitising and strengthening the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) through enhanced capital requirements of MFBs.

He said it also established a National Microfinance Bank to enable that subsector play their role of providing credit.