The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has urged the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), to keep a closer watch on banks across the country to avoid failure and its attendant unsavoury effects on the economy.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
The chairman said this when the Managing Director of NDIC, Bello Hassan and other top management staff of the corporation, paid him a courtesy visit.
Olukoyede linked bank failure to economic and financial crimes and cautioned the NDIC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to continue to beam searchlights on banks to strengthen them against liquidation.
“There is a nexus between criminal activities and liquidation of banks. When they don’t play by the rules, you discover that ultimately, the banks will be folded up and that’s always the problem and so you have a very critical role to play to avoid bank failure.
“We are ready to support you, we are ready to collaborate with you in any capacity to achieve this,” he said.
The EFCC’s boss described the NDIC as a critical partner and vital agent in the fight against economic and financial crimes
He pointed out that the corporation had considerable strength to deepen and strengthen growth in the economy of the nation.
“One of the key issues that I promised Nigerians is to use the instrumentality of anti-corruption to stimulate growth in the economy.
“And, when you look at that critically, you will discover that the financial industry is very critical in growing the economy and of course, we all know that NDIC plays a major role,” he said.
He pledged a deeper collaboration of the EFCC with the corporation, maintaining that the two agencies have wider areas of relevance to the development of the nation.
“I am aware of the relationship between NDIC and the EFCC. We will strengthen and deepen it in the overall interest of our nation,” he said.
Olukoyede also explained that courts usually determined the destination of recoveries made by the EFCC.
“NDIC can always apply to the government for any recovery if it is not paid directly into its account,” he said.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Hassan congratulated Olukoyede on his appointment and expressed confidence in his efforts toward repositioning the EFCC in the fight against economic and financial crimes.
“We believe you have all it takes to move this commission forward in the fight against economic and financial crimes, which will go a long way in helping Mr. President achieve his agenda of ‘Renewed Hope’ for Nigerians,” he said.
Speaking on the mandate of NDIC, Hassan said the corporation was one of the safety nets in the financial services industry.
He stressed that the EFCC was one of its critical stakeholders in the attainment of its objectives.
“The mandate of NDIC includes bank supervision, liquidation of licensed deposit -taking institutions. In addition to that, NDIC has the mandate to root out those responsible for failure of those institutions to account.
“That is why we recognise EFCC as one of our critical stakeholders in the journey toward the attainment of our objective,” he said.
He called for stronger collaboration with the EFCC, maintaining that the commission had always been of tremendous help to the NDIC.
“The whole objective is to see how we can deepen the collaboration that existed between NDIC and the EFCC.
“Like I have said, EFCC has assisted us greatly in what we are doing. In 2022, the EFCC graciously agreed to establish a desk for us in Abuja as well as Lagos,” he said.
He appealed that recoveries made by the EFCC for the NDIC should be directly returned to the corporation and not into government’s cofers.
(NAN)
