By NewsBits
A consortium of stakeholders in the financial sector including Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Financial and Intelligence Unit (NFIU); the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have endorsed the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Amendment Bill, 2022.
Development was made known on Wednesday at public hearing organised by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Instructions in Abuja. Mr Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor lauded the bill saying it would help to reposition the NDIC for better output.
Emefiele, represented by Mr Kofo Salam-Alada, extolled the bill. “CBN will have recommended that this Bill should take a bow and go, if bills are allowed to do so since it supports financial system stability,” he said. Mr Kingsley Amanko, the representative of NFIU, said the NDIC was crucial in the financial sector.
“The NFIU is a central national agency responsible for the receiving of financial disclosures from reporting entities, analyses these disclosures and produce intelligent reports for dissemination to competent authorities,” he said. Mr Chile Okoroma, the Director, Legal of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) equally supported bill.
Okoroma however, observed that Section 71 (3) of the new Bill sought to takeaway the discretionary power of the court to award general damages, saying the court can only award special damages, which was unfair, according to him. This, he said eroded the discretionary powers of the court and should be looked at again.
Other stakeholders that supported the bill included National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and National Association of Micro Finance Banks (NAMFB).
The Managing Director of NDIC, Mr Hassan Bello while welcoming the amendment bill, said the law came into force in 1988 and was only amended in 2006. He expressed appreciation to all the stakeholders for the support, adding that the current amendment will go a long way in protecting depositors’ money.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Instructions, Sen, Uba Sani, who also sponsored the bill expressed happiness on how the proceedings went at the public hearing. Sani, who represents Kaduna Central at the National Assembly expressed confidence that the input from the stakeholders would enrich the committee’s report.
