ABUJA – The Managing Director, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, on Saturday said the amendment of the corporation’s Act would enable better supervision of the sector.
Ibrahim said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
He said that the NDIC wanted the removal of legal obstacles that tend to work against efforts to pay depositors in case of liquidation.
“ We want the removal of legal obstacles placed against moves and efforts to pay depositors in case of liquidation by going to court to forestall that.
“ As much as they want to exercise whatever right they think they have, they should not do anything that will unnecessarily jeopardise depositors’ interest.
“ So we are seeking for an amendment whereby regardless of any subsisting court action, we should be able to go ahead and pay insured depositors who are languishing,’’ Ibrahim said.
He said that the corporation also wanted to be able to sanction erring management or directors that contributed to the downfall of insured institutions in the country.
Ibrahim added that in the next 25 years, the NDIC would continue to strive to deliver on its mandate of depositor protection.
“ We will ensure the safety and soundness of our banking system through supervision and we will continue to partner with all stakeholders so as to achieve all our goals,’’ he said.
Also speaking with NAN, The Minister of State for FCT, Mr Bashir Yuguda, said the NDIC had been a stabilising factor in the financial sector and urged them to continue to do more.
Yuguda noted that the idea for the reform in the Act was to look at areas where NDIC could meet up with the present challenges.
He said that with an insurance deposit fund of over N500 billion, NDIC was doing the statutory job they were supposed to do and as the supervising minister, he was happy about NDIC’s achievements. (NAN)