CBN dispels rumour of Skye Bank liquidation

By Odunewu Segun

Central Bank of Nigeria has assured customers and stakeholders of Skye Bank that the bank is strong and viable, asking them to disregard any message purporting a liquidation of the bank.

The Acting Director, Communications for CBN, Mr. Isaac Okorafor stated this in a statement released in Abuja on Wednesday. He stated that the messages circulating round that Skye Bank has been liquidated by CBN was not only malicious but totally untrue.

“The CBN wishes to state, and emphatically so, that it has not liquidated Skye Bank or any other Deposit Money Bank, it also wishes to reiterate its earlier assurance that Skye Bank is not in distress and remains a healthy bank,” the statement said.

Okorafor in the statement said the health of the Nigerian banking system remains strong, adding that all banks operating in the country are safe and their depositors should not nurse any fear over their deposit.

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Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria took over the Board and management of Skye Bank Plc after the lender failed to meet the regulator’s minimum key liquidity adequacy ratios in July.

Following the resignation of the Chairman, Chief Tunde Ayeni and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Timothy Oguntayo. CBN appointed Alhaji MK Ahmad as the new Chairman, while Mr. Tokunbo Abiru was appointed as the new MD/CEO.

CBN also removed and replaced all the non-executive directors and the two longest-serving directors of the bank.

The CBN assured shareholders and customers of the bank that it is not in distress, stressing that Skye Bank had corporate governance challenges which had since been taken care of.