NDIC seeks FCT ministry support in closed banks’ assets

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has solicited the support of the Ministry of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in recovering the landed properties of banks in liquidation with the territory.

A statement by Mr Bashir Nuhu, the Director, Communication and Public Affairs Department of the Corporation disclosed this on Tuesday.

Nuhu said the Chairman of the NDIC Board of Directors, Mrs Ronke Sokefun, made the appeal when the management of the board visited Malam Mohammed Bello, the FCT Minister in Abuja.

The statement quoted Sokefun, as saying that the move was to enable the corporation to pay depositors of affected closed banks.

She said the corporation had faced bottlenecks in the full payment of trapped depositors’ funds as a result of the difficulty in recovering assets of banks in-liquidation.

According to her, the difficulties are due to poor documentation by the banks, revocation of title by authorities and litigation over the assets.

“Some of these assets are located in the FCT so, the support of the Ministry in realising the properties would assist the corporation in the discharge of its mandate of deposit guarantee,’’ she said.

It also quoted the Managing Director of the corporation, Mr Bello Hassan, as highlighting the roles of the NDIC and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) in the management of banks’ assets.

Hassan said the NDIC as a liquidator focused on the assets of closed banks following revocation of their licences by the CBN while AMCON was involved with Non-Performing Loans of an existing bank.

The Minister, according to Nuhu, said the ministry was willing to assist the corporation in resolving issues around its properties and those of banks in-liquidation within the ambit of the law.