By Bukola Hameed
President Muhammadu Buhari has named ex-Lagos commissioner, Dr Abdulhakeem Abdullateef as the 10th chairman of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC.
Mr President also approved the appointment of some new members and the reappointment of some existing members to the board.
A statement on Monday signed by the Special Adviser, Media & Communications to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Yunusa Abdullahi, disclosed this.
The statement noted that the new appointments and reappointments had become necessary to avoid any vacuum.
The new appointees are Dr. Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, (Chairman) from Southwest zone; Prof. Osita Ogbu, from Southeast Zone; Umar Jibrin from Northcentral zone; Mohammed Haruna from Northeast zone; Yasmin Dalhatu from Northwest zone; Simon Ogie from Southsouth zone; Abimbola Olashore Southwest zone.
Those representing their institutions on the NDIC board are Director of Home Finance, Muhammed Ali, member (Rep of Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning); Director Banking Supervision Department, Haruna Mustapha, member (Rep of Central Bank of Nigeria).
The reappointed members are Managing Director, Bello Hassan; Executive Director Operations, Mustapha Ibrahim; and Executive Director Corporate Services, Mrs Emily Osuji.
Abdullateef, a lawyer, previously served as member, Lagos State House of Assembly Oshodi/Isolo Constituency II, before he was appointed Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Political and Legislative Powers, then later as commissioner for Home Affairs, Lagos State Government.
NDIC operates a four-year semester system for its board, and the last appointment was made on December 9, 2018.
The statement read, “The appointment of the existing members of the board whose four-year became effective on 9th December, 2018 expired on 9th December, 2022. It is noteworthy that irrespective of the tenure of the appointment, NDIC operates a semester system for its board. Therefore, the board stands dissolved at the end of the tenure of first appointment.
“The board has five other members whose membership is by virtue of institutional or office representation in line with the provision of Section 5 (2 c and d) of the NDIC, Act, 2006.
“It becomes imperative to reconstitute the governing board the NDIC to avoid vacuum, ensure smooth operations of the corporation and ultimately boost the confidence of stakeholders and clients within the financial and banking sectors of the nation’s economy.
“In the light of this, the new governing board is reconstituted through the appointment of five new members including the chairman to form a new board of directors to oversee the affairs of the corporation for the next four years.”
The NDIC (Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation) is an independent agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria. The purpose of the deposit insurance system is to protect depositors and guarantee the settlement of insured funds when a deposit-taking financial institution can no longer repay their deposits, thereby helping to maintain financial system stability.
Since its creation in 1989, the following are the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC chairmen including the eleventh chairman, Dr Abdulhakeem Abdullateef: Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed from 1989 to 1992, Dr. Paul A. Oguma from 1993 to 1995, Alhaji Umaru A. Alkaleri from 1996 to 1997, Alhaji M. M. Sada from 1998 to 1999. Others are Senator Ibrahim Kazaure from 2001 to 2003 and, Baba Ijo O. O. O. Ogunkua in the year 2004.
Mr. Chris Oji was the chairman from 2005 to 2006; Ambassador (Dr.) Hassan Adamu from 2010 to 2015. The NDIC 9th chairman was Mrs. Ronke Sokefun.
Meanwhile the 10th chairman of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, NDIC is Dr Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, former Lagos commissioner.
However, findings by News Live Nigeria revealed that Mr S. C. Nwokedi who was the Permanent Secretary of the corporation acted as the chairman between 1999 and 2000.