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CBN, others back NDIC amendment bill

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other financial services stakeholders have expressed support for the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Amendment Bill 2022.

Others backing the bill include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU); Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON); and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

They conveyed their support during the public hearing organised by the Uba Sani-led Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions.

Expressing his support, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, commended the Senate Committee for its “complete understanding of issues in the banking sector and the financial sector in general.”

Emefiele, represented at the hearing by Kofo Salam-Alada, said: “CBN would have recommended that this Bill should take a bow and go, if bills are allowed to do so, since it supports financial system stability.”

The NFIU’ s representative, Kingsley Amanko, said the Unit sees the NDIC as a crucial, institutional and regulatory agency and indispensable in the fight to ensure the safety and reliability of the Nigerian financial system, thus a desirable partner and a collaborator.

Amanko said: “The NFIU is a central national agency responsible for the receiving of financial disclosures from reporting entities, analyses these disclosures and produces intelligent reports for dissemination to competent authorities.

CBN would have recommended that this Bill should take a bow and go, if bills are allowed to do so, since it supports financial system stability.

Similarly, the Chairman of EFCC, Abdulraheed Bawa, represented by the  Director, Legal and Prosecution, Chile Okoroma, who said the anti-graft agency supports the bill, however observed that “Section 71 (3) takes away the discretionary power of the court to award general damages,” adding that the court can only award special damages, which he said “is not fair”.

The EFCC also noted that Section 73 (1) takes away the “inherent power of the court to decide whether to grant a stay of any proceedings commenced in relation to insured institutions which have been taken over before the Corporation takes proper responsibility of liquidation.”

This, he said, erodes the discretionary powers of the court and should be looked at again.

Other supporters of the bill are the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM); Trade Union Congress (TUC); Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN); Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); and National Association of Micro Finance Banks (NAMFB).

In his remarks, the Managing Director, NDIC, Hassan Bello, who welcomed the amendment to the NDIC Act, recalled that the law came into force in 1988, and was amended in 2006.

He expressed appreciation to all the stakeholders for their support, adding that the current amendment will go a long way in protecting depositors’ money.

Responding, Sani, who also sponsored the Amendment Bill, was pleased with how the proceedings went, and expressed confidence that the input from the stakeholders will enrich the Committee’s report and eventual passage of the bill.

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