The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mr. Thompson Oludare Sunday, has announced that the Corporation now operates under stronger and more effective laws to carry out its bank liquidation mandate.
Mr. Sunday made this known when he received the President and Chairman of Council of the Business Recovery and Insolvency Practitioners Association of Nigeria (BRIPAN), Mr. Chimezie Victor Ihekweazu (SAN), and members of his council on a courtesy visit to the NDIC Headquarters in Abuja.
According to the NDIC Chief Executive, the Corporation’s powers in the liquidation of failed insured institutions have been significantly enhanced with the enactment of the NDIC Act No. 30 of 2023, along with the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020. He stated that the NDIC is now in a better position to prosecute parties responsible for bank failures, unlike in the past when inadequate legal provisions allowed such individuals to avoid accountability.
Mr. Sunday expressed appreciation to the National Assembly for addressing the long-standing issue of a weak legal framework that had limited the Corporation’s efficiency. He also commended the judiciary for its increasing expertise in deposit insurance law and practice, which he said has been demonstrated through effective judgments in failed bank cases that have brought relief to depositors.
“The enhanced powers granted to the Corporation under the NDIC Act 30 of 2023, the BOFIA 2020 and the improved understanding of the judiciary, have made it impossible for individuals to hide under the law to escape liability,” Mr. Sunday stated. “With stronger legal backing, individuals now approach the Corporation to settle out of court, not necessarily because the law has caught up with them, but because they can see that the noose is tightening around those responsible for bank failures.”
He linked the Corporation’s success in realising sufficient assets to declare a first round of liquidation dividends to the uninsured depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank Limited within one year of the revocation of its licence to the positive impact of the new legal framework. Mr. Sunday reaffirmed NDIC’s commitment to leveraging the strengthened laws while partnering with BRIPAN and other stakeholders to ensure effective execution of its mandate.
In his remarks, BRIPAN President and Chairman of Council, Mr. Chimezie Victor Ihekweazu (SAN), commended the NDIC’s efforts and highlighted BRIPAN’s achievements in harmonising insolvency-related laws into a unified framework. He explained that this has improved the efficiency of insolvency and business recovery processes in Nigeria. He also emphasised BRIPAN’s focus on capacity building and called for stronger collaboration between the Corporation and the association to strengthen insolvency and business recovery practices across the country.
