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By Cynthia Alo
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has strengthened and repositioned its debt recovery agents in a renewed push to recover about N1.5 trillion owed to liquidated Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Microfinance Banks (MfBs).
The move, the Corporation said, is aimed at accelerating reimbursement to depositors, many of whom are market women, small business owners and Point-of-Sale, POS, operators affected by the bank failures.
Speaking at the sensitisation seminar organised by the Legal and Asset Management Departments of NDIC for debt recovery agents themed, “Operationalising the Provisions of the NDIC Act 2023 for Effective Debt Recovery,” Director, Legal Department, NDIC, Mr. Olufemi Kushimo, said debt recovery remains critical to depositor reimbursement and financial system stability.
According to him, while the Corporation pays insured deposits from its insurance fund, the recovery of outstanding debts is crucial for settling uninsured deposits and liquidation dividends.
“The work of NDIC is to provide financial assistance and guarantee deposits. Debt recovery is very key to depositor reimbursement. We pay the insured deposits from our insurance fund, but for the uninsured portion, recovery of debts owed to the failed banks is essential,” he said.
He noted that many of the affected depositors are low-income earners whose funds exceed the insured limits, stressing that timely recovery would enable the Corporation to pay liquidation dividends promptly.
Kushimo explained that the NDIC Act 2023 has enhanced the Corporation’s powers, providing stronger enforcement mechanisms to facilitate faster and more efficient debt recovery.
“The Act has enlarged our powers to recover debts owed by delinquent debtors, including insider-related accounts, and to identify criminal infractions for prosecution by relevant agencies. Early enforcement is critical because of the time value of money,” he added.
Also speaking, Director, Asset Management Department, NDIC, Mrs. Patricia Okosun, said the objective of the seminar was to equip recovery agents with additional tools introduced under the new Act.
“We now have an NDIC Act that has strengthened debt recovery. The essence of this seminar is to sensitise our recovery agents on the new provisions and tools available to them, in addition to what they have been doing,” she said.