The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has vowed to fully deploy its enhanced enforcement powers under the NDIC Act 2023 to recover outstanding loans from debtors of failed banks.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the NDIC, Mr Thompson Oludare, disclosed this at a sensitisation seminar for Debt Recovery Agents in Lagos. The event was themed ‘Operationalising the Provisions of NDIC Act 2023 for Effective Debt Recovery’.
The NDIC Act 2023 empowers the corporation to take interim custody of any movable or immovable property of an obligor identified as the bona fide owner. It also authorises the NDIC to freeze funds belonging to an obligor of a failed insured institution held with any insured institution.
Oludare, who was represented by the Director of the Legal Department, Olufemi Kushimo, warned that the culture of loan defaults and prolonged litigation used to delay repayments would no longer be tolerated.
“We intend to utilise every section, provision, and enforcement mechanism available under the law. Those responsible for bank failures must be held accountable. We are prepared to apply every relevant provision of the Act to bring culpable parties to justice,” he said.
According to the corporation, the new enforcement tools are designed to overcome traditional challenges such as repeated court adjournments and what it described as entrenched cultures of default. These hurdles have historically slowed the liquidation process of failed banks and mobile money operators.
The NDIC stated that the core objective of the intensified recovery drive is to ensure prompt payment of liquidation dividends to depositors.
It added that successful debt recovery remains critical to restoring public confidence in the banking system.
The Director of the Asset Management Department, Patricia Okosun, noted that while legal complexities may make it difficult to set fixed timelines for payments, the corporation is now better positioned to accelerate recoveries.
“The essence of this engagement is to sensitise our agents to the new provisions that will support and improve their work,” Okosun said. “The earlier the recovery, the better, as it enables quicker reimbursement of depositors.”
Beyond recovering debts, the NDIC said the 2023 Act also serves as a deterrent by ensuring that parties responsible for bank failures bear the consequences.
By pursuing culpable parties, the corporation said it aims to sanitise the banking industry and ensure that depositors do not solely bear the burden of institutional failures.
