21102019 - BORDER CLOSURE:‘How neighbouring countries worked against Nigeria’

8—Vanguard, MONDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2019
SOS: Traffic gridlock along Mile 2-Apapa-Expressway, as motorists were trapped for
hours, yesterday. Photo: Lamidi Bamidele.
Four banks failed CAR requirement
in 2018 — NDIC •Says N15bn lost to fraud
By Emma Ujah,
Abuja Bureau Chief
FOUR Deposit Money
Banks, DMBs, failed to
meet Capital Adequacy
Ratio, CAR, requirements last
year, Nigeria Deposit
Insurance Corporation,
NDIC, disclosed this in its
2018 annual report
distributed to the media, in
Abuja, weekend.
The organisation did not
name the affected banks.
It said, however, that the
banking industry average
CAR increased to 15.26 per
cent in 2018 from 10.23 per
cent in 2017, above the
regulatory minimum
requirement of 10 per cent
and 15 per cent for banks with
national and international
authorisation, respectively.
The corporation said: “The
increase in CAR could further
be explained by the 44.88 per
cent increase in the total
qualifying capital from
N2.201 trillion in 2017 to N3.
189 trillion in 2018 and
complemented by the 2.89
per cent decline in Total Risk
Weighted Assets from N
21.520 trillion in 2017 to N
20.898 trillion in 2018.
“The number of DMBs that
failed to meet the minimum
Capital Adequacy Ratio
threshold remained four as
reported in 2017. The
recapitalisation requirements
declined from N1.57 trillion
in 2017 to N704.88 billion as
at December 31, 2018.”
Frauds
The NDIC reported an
increase in the number and
frequency of frauds in the
banking industry in the year
under review.
There were 37, 817 cases
in 2018, against 26, 182 cases
in 2017, representing an
increase of 44. 42 percent.
Similarly, the amount
involved increased from
N12.01 billion in 2017 to N38.
93 billion in 2018, an increase
of 224 per cent.
The corporation said the
actual amount lost to frauds
in 2018 stood at N15.15
billion, as against N2.37
billion in the preceding year,
showing a worrisome
increase in losses to bank
frauds.
N15.79 credit
The organisation said total
credit extended by banks in
the year under review
decreased to N15.29 trillion,
representing a 3. 9 per cent
reduction from the N15.92
trillion given out as credit by
the banks in 2017.
According to the NDIC, the
oil and gas sector received the
highest amount of credit in
2018, standing at N4 . 66
trillion or 30.46 percent of total
credit given by the DMBs.
The second highest
exposure went to the
manufacturing sector, which
received N 2. 25 trillion,
representing 14.71 per cent.
Government came third ion
that ranking with N1.34
trillion or 8.78 per cent;
followed by General
Commercial which got N
1.14 or 7.44 per cent per cent.
The corporation said that
Finance and Insurance , as
well as, General Sectors
received 6.49 per cent and 6
per cent , respectively.
Non-Performing
Loans
Similarly, the Non-
Performing Loans also
witnessed a downward trend,
as it stood at N1.79 trillion,
down from N2.36 trillion,
representing a decrease of
about 25. 15 per cent.
The NDIC noted that
although the NPLs ratio of
11.7 Per cent was a significant
improvement over the 14. 84
per cent recorded in 2017, the
ratio remained high, when
compared with the industry
maximum prudential
threshold of 5 per cent .
On the liquidity position of
DMBs, the NDIC revealed
an industry average of 51.8
per cent, which was higher
than the prudential liquidity
ratio requirement of 30 per
cent. Industry Liquidity
Ratio average in the
preceding year was 45.56 per
cent.
Borno South elders back Ndume on 847
soldiers buried in Borno cemetery
•Say accusations against him misplaced, unconscionable
THE Borno South
Concerned Elders,
BSCE, has defended the
position of the Chairman,
Senate Committee on Army,
Senator Ali Ndume, that there
is an evidential proof that 847
slain soldiers were buried at
a military cemetery in Borno
State.
The group also faulted
claims by Amnesty
International of a hidden
mass burial, and condemned
what it described as
unwarranted attack and
spurious allegations targeted
at Ndume over his recent
disclosure on the 847 slain
soldiers.
Ndume had revealed that
the committee discovered
during its recent fact-finding
mission to the northeast that
847soldiers had lost their lives
and were buried at a military
cemetery in the state, adding
that there was no evidence
of any secret mass burial as
claimed by some
organisations working in the
region.
However, the disclosure
generated reactions,
including a rebuttal by Army
spokesman who had since
recanted.
He was also viciously
attacked by a group, National
Democratic Front, NDF,
which described his
revelations as an attempt to
divert attention from “his
dishonourable contributions
to Boko Haram.”
The group in a statement
signed by the chairman,
Alhaji Yakubu Kwanyang,
yesterday, described the
attacks on Ndume as
“misplaced and
unconscionable.”
It maintained that the figure
quoted by the senator was
clearly written on the roll-call
of the dead at the said military
cemetery as factual proofs of
the claim dating back to 2013.
Kwanyang described as
unfortunate comments
credited to one Dr. Bolaji
Abdulkadir of the National
Democratic Front, who rather
than address the substance
of the committee’s findings,
resorted to name-calling and
spurious accusations.
He said: “Our initial
reaction was to ignore the
unwarranted invectives since
it is clear that the author is
largely ignorant of the
situations in Borno and the
role Sen. Ali Ndume has
played and is still playing to
restore hope and better the
lots of our people.
“While we appreciate
honest and constructive
criticism of public officers,
especially the elected ones,
we consider it irresponsible
for anyone or group to
engage in falsehood to make
disparaging statement that
impinges on integrity of
Senator Ali Ndume and the
institution of the Senate.
“For posterity, let me restate
here that it is nonsensical to
associate Sen. Ali Ndume
with Boko Haram. As he had
said before, he was not just a
direct victim of Boko Haram’s
atrocious activities, having lost
members of his immediate
family, including his sister’s
husband, he lost other
innocent members of his
constituency in Borno south
to the murderous activities of
insurgents."
Banking services: FG directs
MTN, others to suspend N4
charge on USSD access
THE Federal Government
has asked MTN Nigeria
and other mobile operators
to suspend the N4 charge
per 20 seconds on USSD
access to banking services.
The directive was issued by
Minister
of
Communications, Dr. Isa
Pantami, yesterday, after a
twitter user, Mustapha Hadi,
tweeted at Pantami,
requesting he acts on the
claim.
MTN had sent a message
to its mobile customers that
with effect from October 21,
2019, N4 will be charged on
every 20 seconds spent while
using USSD access to
banking services.
“Yello, Please note that
from October 21, we will
charge N4 per 20 seconds
for USSD access to banking
services. Thank you,’’ the
company had said in the
message.
Pantami, in a statement
signed by his spokesperson,
Mrs. Uwa Suleiman, asked
the
Nigerian
Communications
Commission, NCC, to
ensure that the operator
suspended such plans until
he was fully briefed.
He said:“The attention of
the Federal Ministry of
Communications has been
drawn to the viral text
message allegedly sent by
the Mobile Network
Operator, MTN Nigeria and
other mobile operators
notifying subscribers of a four
naira (N4:00) charge per 20
seconds on USSD access to
banking services from the
21st of October 2019.
“The office of the Minister
of Communications, Dr Isa
Ali Ibrahim Pantami, is
unaware of this
development and has,
hereby, directed the sector
regulator, the Nigerian
Communications
Commission, NCC, ensures
the operator suspends such
plans until the Minister is
fully and properly briefed.’’
Atiku’s allies worry over delay
in constituting Presidential
Elections Appeal Panel
By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA— ALLIES of
former Vice President
and Presidential candidate of
Peoples Democratic Party,
PDP, in the last general
election, Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar, have raised
concerns over the delay by the
judiciary in constituting the
seven-member Presidential
Election Appeal Panel.
The former vice president’s
men, under the aegis of
Democracy Vanguard of
Nigeria in Diaspora, DVND,
made their position known in
a statement jointly signed by
Leonard Ishiguzo, Yakubu
Mohammad and Timothy
Sule; Director Outreach,
North America Coordinator
and President of DVND
respectively.
The Presidential Election
Petition Tribunal, PEPT, had
on September 11 dismissed
the petitions filed by Atiku
and PDP, and upheld the
victory of President
Muhammadu Buhari
during the poll, but PDP and
its candidate headed to the
Supreme Court where they
filed a 66-point submission
to challenge the judgment
of the tribunal.
However, the pro-Atiku
group noted that the
statute of limitation for
appeal at the Supreme
Court was 60 days, adding
that since the tribunal gave
its judgement on
September 11, “the appeal
is yet to be heard and the
expiration of the statute of
limitation is on November
11, 2019.”
The DVND accused All
Progressives Congress,
APC-led administration of
forcing the judiciary to “
technically delay the
constitution of the sevenman
justices to preside
over the case.”
The group also aligned
with PDP caucus in the
House of Representatives,
which said “there are also
alternative plans to jettison
the historical precedents of
the courts by choosing the
judges according to
positioning in the court to
a style of staccato
nomination by
determining judges who
will be favourable to the
whims and caprices of
APC.
“A credible, clear, crystal,
conforming situation that
allows the Supreme Court
to function without any
abysmal interference from
the executive will foster law
and order and will bring
back the trust and
confidence Nigerians have
in the judiciary.”
The group also
commended Abubakar for
shunning violence after the
polls, saying his resolve to
seek redress through the
judiciary showed that he was
a true democrat who loved his
country more than his
personal ambition.
The group said: “We want
to applaud Atiku Abubakar,
who deserves encompassing
encomium for successfully
stopping his electors and
voters from taking the laws
into their hands, which
demonstrates his strong
democratic principles and his
belief in the judiciary.
‘’This is a constant, credible
and compelling evidence that
Mr. Atiku Abubakar is one of
the most endearing and
qualified candidates in the
election."