Yemisi Izuora
Operators in Nigeria’s financial sector have called for strapping collaboration between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to help out in strengthening the financial sector.
The stakeholders who spoke in Abuja at a one-day Hearing on the Amendment of the 2006 NDIC Act, organised by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions called for a better engagement between the institutions.
Professor Akpan Ekpo, Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM), said the act, if instated, would run contrary to the established responsibilities of deposit insurance corporation.
He said it would also give NDIC power to license banks, suspend banks without recourse to the CBN, determine the licences of banks and appoint itself as a liquidator.
This, he said, overlapped with that of the role of the CBN and out of line with the functions of the deposit insurers anywhere in the world.
He called for clear indications of mandate and collaboration from both institutions in the interest of growth and development of the economy.
Malam Kabir Ahmed, former Director-General of the National Pension Commission, said the CBN and NDIC had been collaborating to supervise the banks in past.
He said that founding fathers of the NDIC saw the need for both parties to always work together, adding that there was the need for both institutions to continue in the same vein.
In addition, Victor Edozie, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, said the role of supervising the bank remained the primary objective of the apex bank.
He said the role of CBN and the NDIC remained important for the financial system stability in the country.
He called on the committee to critically look at amendment of the act, to ensure effective operations of both institutions.
Also, Mr Bismarck Rewane, an economist, said it was not necessary for the NDIC to seek for additional powers for effective operations.
“Since there has been an existing collaboration between the two institutions, they should work in the interest of the growth of the sector,” he said.