BY NKECHI NAECHE- ESEZOBOR—-The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) said it paid a total of N1.6 billion to more than 40,000 depositors of failed banks.
Mr Hassan Bello, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, of the Corporation disclosed this at the 2023 NDIC Finance Correspondent of Nigeria (FICAN) workshop in Owerri.
According to him the value of debt we are about to recover if you take into account, all the banks in liquidation, all the Deposit Money Banks, Micro finance banks the primary mortgage institutions, this debt is beyond N400 billion that is what we are expecting to recover so that we can pay those depositors of those banks liquidation.
“Already we have paid substantial amount and that is why we have put up advert so that depositors of those failed banks can come forward, so that we can verify them in other to pay what we call liquidation dividend, this is what we pay over and above the insured amount. ”
The agency also said it has concluded plans to commence recovery of over N400 billion from debtors of liquidated banks in the country, aimed at paying depositors.
Speaking further on debt recovery, he said, “those loans that were granted with the deposit of people that were collected by the banks and it is only when those debt are paid back then the NDIC will now pay the depositors of those failed banks, and that is one of the challenges NDIC are facing.”
He however, plead for support from the government to assist the corporation, in making sure that if there is a way to bring-in all the stakeholders – the legislature, the judiciary – “to make sure that any time we take our cases before the court, those cases are given expedited hearing so that justice can be dispensed.
“In all the cases that we have taken before the court, what we are trying to prove is that Mr X has borrowed from the bank and let the court decide that this person is owing that let him pay.
“like I said at the beginning, the loans that where granted by those banks in liquidation where out of depositors money, not their capital. So, it is only when they pay that we’ll be able to pay those depositors. It is only when debtors repay back that we’ll be able to pay the depositors. This is one of our greatest challenge.”
