Civil Society Groups Support Banking Sector Recapitalisation

Segun James

Following the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) to raise the capital base of banks in the country, a coalition of civil society organisations in the country have thrown their weight behind the plan.

According to them, the decision was healthy for Nigeria’s economy, adding that it would make the banks stronger as well attract investors.

They noted that at the last recapitalisation exercise, N25 billion was worth about $200 million, but the said amount is not worth $20 million today, hence the need for the exercise.

Addressing the press at Ikeja, Lagos State, the spokesperson for the civil society organisations and former chairman of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Lagos and District Society, Mr. Alesta Wilcox, said the banks in Nigeria now are weak, which discourages investors.

He noted that the recapitalisation exercise was to make the banks healthy and stronger, arguing that when banks are healthy, they would be able to perform better and recruit more staff.

The coalition made up of the Constitutional Rights Advocate Initiative; Cadrell Advocacy Center; Movement for Nigeria Restructuring; Centre for Social & Economic Rights; Committee for the Protection of People’s Mandates; Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) and Commonwealth Institute of Advanced & Professional Studies, noted that the exercise was important for the political and economic wellbeing of the nation.

According to them, they are supporting the recapitalisation exercise because there were allegedly plans by some benefiting from the weakness in the banking sector to sabotage it.

“We are a coalition of civil society organisations. Our role is to act as watchdogs to the government in the overarching interest of the Nigerian people.

“Our gathering today is to alert the federal government, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Bankers Committee and the Nigerian media to an organised plot by some vested interest within the Nigerian Banking System to begin to orchestrate a diversionary gas-lighting campaign to stop the proposed banking sector reforms using some faceless civil society organisations who will begin to make preposterous claims and allegations against some Nigerians who are critical to the success of the planned banking recapitalisation programme.

“We also have credible intelligence that they intend to make some unsubstantiated allegations against the current CBN Governor, Mr. Olayemi Cardoso; Mr. Olawale Edun, the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister in charge of the economy, ” the coalition warned.

They further alleged that some investors in the banking sector were planning to sabotage the recapitalisation, adding that the goal was to either delay or force the CBN to drop the ongoing reforms of the sector.

“It is germane to say that some of the banks which require the recapitalisation most are the very ones in need of the injection of capital off the back of the recapitalisation programme. But these vested interests would rather leave the banks in their sick state to prevent the truth from being unearthed, ” the civil society stated.