Polaris Bank gets new management board one day after its sale
A day after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced the sale of Polaris Bank, the bank’s new owners, Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL), have appointed a new management board.
The appointments come after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) agreed to inject N1.3 trillion into the lender over the next 25 years after selling the bank’s 100 per cent equity for N50 billion.
According to a statement released on Friday, the new board will be led by the organisation’s current chairman, M. K. Ahmad, and comprise six non-executive and three executive directors.
AdekunIe Sonola, was appointed as the new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.
Mr Sonola, a former Executive Director of Commercial Banking at Union Bank Plc. replaces Innocent Ike.
The government announced SCIL as the preferred bidder to takeover the bank, four years after taking over the troubled Skye Bank, renaming it Polaris Bank and injecting more than N1 trillion in public funds to recapitalise the bank. The bidding process was never made public.
In a statement on Thursday, the CBN claimed the sale decision was taken jointly with the Asset Management Company of Nigeria.
The CBN said the new owner has promised to repay N1.3 trillion that was invested into the bank.
Peoples Gazette had in August exclusively reported a plot by Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele to secretly sell the bank for a paltry N40 billion to Auwal Gombe, a son-in-law to former military head of state Ibrahim Babangida.
The report sparked queries from the public and in early October, renowned lawyer Femi Falana wrote to the apex bank demanding details of the proposed sale. It is not immediately clear if the bank had responded to Mr Falana’s query.
However, the House of Representatives also directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately suspend the sale of Polaris Bank and ensure a fair, open and transparent bidding process was followed with all relevant regulatory agencies involved.
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