House of Reps bars CBN from secret sale of Polaris Bank
The House of Representatives on Wednesday directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately suspend the sale of Polaris Bank Plc.
The House said the suspension should be until the CBN, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria concluded all processes for an open, transparent, and competitive bid process.
This the house said it should be in line with best practice and procedure for divestment of this nature.
This followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Henry Nwauba (APGA-Imo) at the plenary on Wednesday.
He said public attention had been drawn through a circulation currently on social media in respect of the proposed sale of Polaris Bank for N40 billion.
People’s Gazette had in August exclusively reported a plot by Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele to secretly sell the bank which was nationalised with N1.2 trillion taxpayers’ funds in 2018 for a paltry N40 billion to Auwal Gombe, a son in-law to former military head of state Ibrahim Babangida.
Following the report, 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.
Mr Nwauba said in plenary that there was need to ensure that the divestment in the bank did not jeopardise the core reason for the CBN intervention in the bank in the overall public interest.
He added that the divestment should be done most transparently following the required due process.
He said that this was necessary to avert public outcry and untoward reaction from critical stakeholders in the economy, foreign business partners, banking community, depositors, Correspondent banks.
The lawmaker added that it was crucial to avoid the shortcomings of the previous similar exercise undertaken in the past.
He said that Polaris Bank was borne out of the bailout of the defunct Skye bank Plc that failed due to poor corporate governance and non-performing loan.
The lawmaker said the defunct Skye Bank was a systemically important Bank with a large pool of employees, customers, and other stakeholders.
He said that the bank without a bailout would have had a serious contagion effect on the economy and global perception/reputation.
The House therefore set up an Ad hoc Committee to within 20 days, review the total outlay by the federal government of Nigeria in Polaris Bank and account for the entire financial input in the bank by the federal government.
The House said this should be through CBN, NDIC and AMCON to determine whether the conditions and terms of sale were likely to ensure positive return on public funds thus far committed to the bank, whether as bailout funds or other investments.
The House urged the committee to take action necessary to ensure that the public funds committed to Polaris Bank were appropriately documented, accounted for.
(NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Anti-Corruption
Fighting corruption not child’s play, says Ondo anti-graft agency chair
The state anti-graft agency chairman affirmed that the body’s primary mandate was to curb the devastating effects of corruption.
NationWide
Cost of healthy diet in Nigeria stood at N982 in March: NBS
The NBS said in its CoHD report for March 2024, released on Tuesday that the cost in March increased by 4.7 per cent compared to the N938 recorded in February.
NationWide
Shettima returns from Kenya, meets U.S. Secretary Campbell in Abuja
On arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Mr Shettima met with the United States Deputy Secretary Kurt Campbell and his team.
Sport
Vinicius, Kane on scoresheet as Madrid, Bayern Munich settle for draw in UCL semi-final first leg
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid drew 2-2 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final tie.
States
Benue government to construct 50 roads in 12 months
Governor Hyacinth Alia of Benue says the state government will award contracts for constructing 50 roads to be completed in the next 12 months.
World
U.S. Department of Justice plans to recommend easing restrictions on marijuana
The recommendation, if approved, will only mean there will be few changes in the government’s views regarding the safety and use of marijuana for medical purposes.