The Coalition of Civil Society Organisations has alerted the Federal Government and CBN to an organised plot by some vested interests to orchestrate a diversionary campaign to stop the proposed banking sector reforms.
The coalition is made up of the Constitutional Rights
Advocate Initiative, Cadrell Advocacy Center, Movement for Nigeria
Restructuring, Center for Social & Economic Rights, Committee for the
Protection of People’s Mandates and Commonwealth Institute of Advanced &
Professional Studies
The spokesperson of the coalition, Mr Nelson Ekujumi, made
this known at a news conference on Monday in Lagos.
The News Agency reports that the CBN on March 29, said it
had directed commercial banks with international authorisation to increase
their capital base to N500 billion and national banks to N200 billion.
According to the acting CBN director, commercial banks with
national licences must meet a N200 billion threshold, while those with regional
authorisation are expected to achieve a N50 billion capital floor.
The Banking Sector Recapitalisation Programme is a
regulatory initiative of CBN that requires banks to increase their minimum
paid-in common equity capital to a specified amount according to their licence
category and authorisation within a specified period of time.
According to Ekujumi, who is also the Convener, Committee
for the Protection of People’s Mandate, some Nigerians were planning to use
faceless civil society organisations because these people do not want the fresh
injection of capital into the banks.
The spokesperson alleged
the group intended to delay or force CBN to drop the ongoing reforms of
the banking sector.
This, he said, was so as to elongate the stay of their Pay
Masters at the helm of affairs at some of the ”sick” banks which required the
recapitalisation the most.
Ekujumi noted that recapitalisation programmes required
forensic audit of the loan books, saying that this was what they did not want.
He said: “We are a coalition of civil society organisations.
Our role is to act as watchdogs to government in overarching interest of the
Nigerian people.
“We have followed the various economic policy reform
programmes of the present administration, we have at different times expressed
our views on them.
“These faceless groups were planning to use some faceless
civil society organisations who will begin to make preposterous claims and
allegations against some Nigerians who critical to the success of the planned
banking recapitalization programme.
“We also have credible intelligence that they intend to make
some unsubstantiated allegations against the current CBN Governor, Mr Olayemi
Cardoso; Mr Olawale Edun, the Finance Minister and some investors in the
banking sector.
“What is their goal?
“It is to either delay or force the Central Bank of Nigeria
to drop the ongoing reforms of the banking sector so as to elongate the stay of
their Pay Masters at the helm of affairs at some of the sick banks which
require the recapitalisation most.”
He said: “It is germane to say that some of the banks which
require the recapitalisation most are the very ones in need of the injection of
capital off the back of the recapitalization programme.
“However, these vested interests would rather leave the
banks in their sick state so as to prevent the truth from being unearthed.”
Ekujumi said if indeed they cared about the interest of the
banks in question, why don’t they want new capital injected to save the banks?.
He described the allegation like a parent of an anaemic
child rejecting blood donation even when the doctors certified the blood to be
clean.
The spokesperson said one of the critical pillars upon which
the economic reforms agenda of the Federal government was anchored was the
proposed banking sector reforms.
He said Nigeria could not afford another banking sector
crisis which would throw more Nigerians into the unemployment market.
Ekujumi said this why they were raising this alarm, adding
that they had secured the services of some faceless civil society and some
online media to advance this gaslighting campaign.
He said in the case of one of the banks, the ages of some of
the Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) would shock the Nigerian public.
According to him, they date back to the 1970s with interest
capitalised running into decades.
“But thankfully, there has been a successful sale of the
debt to a company as it is done the world over,” he said. #Recapitalisation:
CSOs Uncover Counterplans to Stop FG’s Proposed Banking Reforms
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