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Vanguard, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 — 47
NDIC: 30 years after
BY SANI MOHAMMED
GONE are the days
in Nigeria when
depositors suddenly lose
money due to crisis in
the global financial
market or distress in
banks. The advent of the
Nigeria Deposit
Insurance Corporation,
NDIC, could be
described as that of a
child born of necessity.
Birthed 30 years ago,
the NDIC is primarily
tasked with ensuring financial
system stability
in the country through
efficient and effective regulation
of banks for the
overall well-being of the
economy and the safeguard
of depositors’ fund.
Atypical of a government’s
regulatory agency,
the corporation has
applied itself to the job of
policing deposit funds in
ways that has led to
heightened confidence in
Nigerian banks by investors,
depositors and operators
alike. It has
equally succeeded in its
onerous task of building
and sustaining safe,
sound and stable financial
system that that today
offers strong support to
the country’s strive for
economic prosperity.
In the beginning
The NDIC was established
in March 1989 following
the promulgation
of Decree No. 22 of 1988,
now repealed and replaced
with NDIC Act 16
of 2006, with a mandate
to confront multi-faceted
quagmire in the banking
sector that sent many Nigerian
families into penury
due to the sudden
erosion of their hardearned
savings in 1988.
The coming on board of
the regulator at a time of
grave financial stress in
the economy did not faze
the agency. The corporation
hit the ground running
and, within the
space of a few months,
sufficiently calmed the
troubled banking sector
through ingenious dose
of cutting-edge solutions
to the existential financial
problem made possible
by the solid vision of its
founding fathers coupled
with the ingenuity of
those who piloted its affairs
at infancy.
The agency did not only
demonstrate an uncommon
understanding of
the issues but boldly administered
solutions
which led to an immediate
turnaround of a catastrophic
situation in some
Nigerian banks. Since
then, the Corporation has
waxed both nuclear and
seminal in meeting the
laudable objectives for
which the agency was set
up.
Notwithstanding the
attendant difficulties, the
corporation has remained
committed to its primary
objectives which are to
“contribute to financial
system stability as well as
protect small, uniformed
and less financially sophisticated
depositors by
providing an orderly
means of resolution and
compensation in the
event of failure of their
insured financial institutions.”
To create the right
motivation for the attainment
of its crucial objectives,
the corporation
evolved and adopted an
holistic and all-encompassing
vision, which is:
“To be one of the leading
The corporation
has succeeded in
its core mandate
of deposit guarantee,
banking
supervision,
distress resolution
and bank
liquidation
deposit insurers in the
world”; and an unambiguous
mission: “To protect
depositors and contribute
to the stability of the financial
system through
effective supervision of
insured institutions, provision
of financial/technical
assistance to eligible
insured institutions,
prompt payment of guaranteed
sums and orderly
resolution of failed insured
financial institutions”.
Added to this are
its core values of honesty,
respect and fairness,
discipline, professionalism
and teamwork.
The journey so far
As a deposit guarantor,
the mandate of the NDIC
covers all deposit taking
financial institutions licensed
by the Central
Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
These include Deposit
Money Banks, DMBs,
Microfinance Banks,
MFBs, Primary Mortgage
Banks, PMBs, Non-Interest
Banks, NIBs and
the emerging Mobile
Money Operators,
MMOs. The corporation
currently provides deposit
insurance cover to the
27 DMBs, 888 MFBs, 38
PMBs and one NIB in
operation today in the
country.
Unarguably, the corporation
has succeeded in
its core mandate of deposit
guarantee, banking supervision,
distress resolution
and bank liquidation.
It is worthy to note that
under the guidance and
leadership of its successive
leadership and staff,
the Corporation had in
the last 30 years achieved
monumental success, set
records, contributed immensely
to the financial
system stability in the
country.
To sustain its vigilance
over depositors’ fund and
continuously enhance
public confidence in the
banking system, the
NDIC has a knack for intermittently
assessing its
coverage level for all insured
financial institutions
in the country, taking
into consideration the
macroeconomic environment
and the deposit
structure of the industry,
etc.
The corporation had
ensured that majority of
bank depositors are covered
in compliance with
Principle 8 of the International
Association of Deposit
Insurers, IADI, Core
Principle for Effective
Deposit Insurance. Towards
this end, it twice
increased the maximum
deposit insurance coverage
from N50,000.00 per
depositor per DMB at inception,
to N200,000.00
in 2006 and
N500,000.00 in 2010.
Similarly, the maximum
coverage per depositor of
PMBs and MFBs was increased
from
N100,000.00 in 2006 to
N200,000.00 in 2010. To
reflect the increased deposit
structure in the subsector,
it also increased
coverage per depositor
per PMBs to
N500,000.00.
Besides, the NDIC as a
risk minimiser, has over
the years maintained strategic
synergy with relevant
agencies of government
to oversee banks in
order to ensure that the
institutions remain
healthy at all times and
to detect and promptly
nip risk factors in the bud.
This supervision work
ethic has guaranteed stability,
integrity, soundness
and efficiency in the
nation’s banking system.
As a deposit insurer,
NDIC has also employed
banking supervision as a
major arsenal for the protection
of depositors’ interest.
As the NDIC rolls out
the drums in a few days
to mark its three decades
of existence, it is trite to
say that it would no doubt
be a celebration of excellence
in building and sustaining
safe, sound and
stable financial system
that offers strong support
to the nation’s drive for
economic prosperity.
Most stakeholders in the
financial sector, including
depositors, banks and
other financial institutions,
can look back with
pride on the Herculean
task the agency has undertaken
in reshaping
and realigning banking
operations in the country
to the benefit of all.
·MOHAMMED, a public
affairs analyst, wrote
from Abuja
APC, PDP bicker over election
violence, disrupts INEC
stakeholders’ meeting
*INEC boss warns against hate speech,
vote-buying
By Samuel Oyadongha
& Emem Idio
THERE was a heated
verbal squabble between
some chieftains of
the All Progressives Congress,
APC, and Peoples
Democratic Party, PDP, in
Bayelsa State, yesterday
during the Independent
National Electoral Commission,
INEC, stakeholders
meeting which forced the
meeting to an abrupt end.
The bone of contention
was the issue of Internally
Displaced Persons, IDP,
who were displaced during
the 2019 general elections.
Chief Francis Doukpola,
the chairman of the PDP
Bayelsa Elders Forum; and
Barr. Dennis Otiotio, a representative
of the APC engaged
in the rowdy session
that started at about 1 pm
during the second round of
comments/discussion by
leaders of political parties.
The peaceful event,
which had started for over
two hours, took new turn
when Chief Doukpola was
making his remarks and
touched on issues of IDPs
arising from the violence
that rocked the Presidential
and National Assembly
elections in the state.
He said: “For me the
worst election we had in
Bayelsa was the 2019 Presidential
and National Assembly
elections. We had
very better experience, as
a result of that election. I
regret to inform you that
half of the communities in
Bayelsa now are in IDP;
they are no longer in their
communities simply because
they belong to a certain
political party. Efforts
to return those people to
their communities so that
they can exercise their franchise
in the forthcoming
election is not yielding result.
The name of the community
is Nembe-Basambiri.”
He was immediately interrupted
by Barr. Dennis
Otiotio, who had earlier
spoken at the meeting on
behalf of the APC, for mentioning
the name of a community.
Thereafter a rowdy session
ensued and led to the
sudden closure of the
meeting with national anthem.
The Deputy Inspector
General of Police, Abdulmajeed
Ali, who represented
the Inspector-General of
Police, Mr Muhammad
Adamu, in a chat with
newsmen said it was a normal
thing. He assured that
the police would do everything
to ensure that the
Prof. Yakubu
forthcoming election was
free and fair.
“We want to advise political
parties and their candidates
to warn their supporters
and ensure that everybody
conduct themselves
in peaceful manner.
The Nigeria Police will ensure
that we provide enabling
environment for everybody
in the election,” he
said.
Earlier, the National
Chairman of the INEC,
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu,
had charged all political
Let me remind
candidates and
their supporters
that attack on
commission officials
at the polling
units or through
the collation processes
will this
time attract sanctions
parties participating in the
November 16 Bayelsa governorship
election to conduct
themselves and their
supporters to ensure a violence
free and credible
election.
According to the INEC
boss, Bayelsa and Kogi
states are major elections
for INEC as well as the
nation as a whole, saying
that is why INEC is somehow
breaking most traditions
by holding the meeting
with stakeholders one
month to the election instead
of a few days to the
election.
He further disclosed that
45 political parties are
fielding candidates for the
governorship election as
against 20 political parties
that fielded candidates in
2015, adding that the purpose
of the meeting was to
assure of the commission’s
readiness to conduct a free,
fair and credible election.
“The smart card readers
will be deployed as usual
but learning from the experience
in 2019, we have
ample arrangement including
getting additional
smart card readers from one
of the neighbouring states
to be used for training. All
non-sensitive materials for
the election have been delivered
to Bayelsa State.
The only material outstanding
is the sensitive materials
which we normally deliver
close to the election.
“However, we have a few
areas of concern that I want
to share with the stakeholders.
Number one is
the actions and utterances
likely to lead to violence
during electioneering
campaign, during voting
on election day and
during collation of results
and declaration.
“Let me remind candidates
and their supporters
that attack on commission
officials at the polling
units or through the collation
processes will this
time attract sanctions. We
will not tolerate attack on
INEC officials to force
them make a declaration
and once we receive that
report that the declaration
was made under duress by
the officers we have appointed
then we will not
issue the certificate of return.
In his address, the Resident
Electoral Commissioner,
Bayelsa State, Pastor
Monday Udom Tom
said the Voter Education
Department of the commission
has been involved
in massive sensitization of
the electorate particularly
those at the grassroots to
desist from selling their
votes.
He said: “One area that
gives me a lot of concern is
the issue of void votes. The
Voter Education Department
is working round the
clock to reduce or eliminate
this mistake by voters. This
is where your responsibility
comes in as stakeholders;
please enlighten your
constituents, members and
voters on how to fix their
thumb print mark on the
ballot paper.’’