The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede has tasked the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC, to keep closer watch on banks across the country to avoid failure and its attendant unsavoury effects on the economy.
He gave the charge in Abuja on Thursday, March 21, 2024, while playing host to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NDIC, Bello Hassan and other top management staff of the Corporation who paid him a courtesy visit at the corporate headquarters of the Commission. Olukoyede linked bank failure to economic and financial crimes and cautioned that the NDIC and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, should continue to beam searchlights on banks to strengthen them against liquidation,
“There is a nexus between criminal activities and liquidation of banks. When they don’t play by the rules, you discover that ultimately the banks will be folded up and that’s always the problem and so you have a very critical role to play to avoid bank failure. We are ready to support you, we are ready to collaborate with you in any capacity to achieve this”, he said.
The EFCC’s boss described the NDIC as a critical partner and vital agent in the fight against economic and financial crimes, pointing out that the Corporation had considerable strength to deepen and strengthen growth in the economy of the nation. “One of the key issues that I promised Nigerians is to use the instrumentality of anti-corruption to stimulate growth in the economy and when you look at that critically, you will discover that the financial industry is very critical in growing the economy and of course we all know that NDIC plays a major role”, he said.
He pledged deeper collaboration of the EFCC with the Corporation, maintaining that the two agencies have wider areas of relevance to the development of the nation. “I am aware of the relationship between NDIC and the EFCC. We will strengthen and deepen it in the overall interest of our nation”, he said.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Hassan congratulated Olukoyede on his appointment and expressed confidence in his efforts towards repositioning the EFCC in the fight against economic and financial crimes.
“We believe you have all it takes to move this Commission forward in the fight against economic and financial crimes, which will go a long way in helping Mr. President achieve his agenda of ‘Renewed Hope’ for Nigerians”, he said.
Speaking on the mandate of NDIC, Hassan says the Corporation is one of the safety nets in the financial services industry, stressing that the EFCC is one of its critical stakeholders in the attainment of its objectives.
“The mandate of NDIC includes bank supervision, liquidation of licensed deposit -taking institutions. In addition to that, NDIC has the mandate to root out those responsible for failure of those institutions to account and that is why we recognize EFCC as one of our critical stakeholders in the journey towards the attainment of our objective”, he said
He called for stronger collaboration with the EFCC, maintaining that the Commission has always been of tremendous help to the NDIC. “The whole objective is to see how we can deepen the collaboration that existed between NDIC and the EFCC. Like I have said, EFCC has assisted us greatly in what we are doing. In 2022, the EFCC graciously agreed to establish a desk for us in Abuja as well as Lagos”, he said.
He appealed that recoveries made by the EFCC for the NDIC should be directly returned to the Corporation and not into government’s covers. However, Olukoyede explained that courts usually determine the destination of recoveries. “”NDIC can always apply to the government for any recovery if it is not paid directly into its account”, he said.