BU$IN€SS NDIC taken over by ‘cabal’ — New board chair

By Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, the new chairperson of the governing board of the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), has alleged that the corporation reeks of corruption and has been taken over by a ‘cabal’.

The board chairman also faulted the corporation’s new act saying it is one of the instruments of corruption.

“I tell you, NDIC stinks. There is a lot of rot going on. They say, ‘When you fight corruption, corruption fights you’. This is the purported new act of the NDIC and I tell you for nothing that this is Emefiele’s act. Here, they have taken away the powers of Mr President in respect of the NDIC,” he said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Mr Abdullateef was on 17 May appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari to serve as the chairman of the board of NDIC following the confirmation of the board members by the senate.

But Mr Buhari, on 26 May, signed the NDIC (repeal and reenactment) bill of 2023 into law, repealing the NDIC Act of

2006. The new act, amongst other things, provides that only the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Finance can chair the governing board of the NDIC.

According to a PRNigeria, controversies have since trailed the appointment of the new chair as the new law repealed the appointment of a chairman outside the public service.

Mr Abdullateef, a former Lagos lawmaker and commissioner, alleged that the ‘cabal’ took the new act to former President Buhari 48 hours before his leaving office.

“They knew at that time that the man was so busy and he would not be able to read everything they have put here. Therefore, they got him to sign it,” he said.

“Another fraud was committed. This document that was signed is materially different from the vote and proceedings of that of the National Assembly that passed it.”

He alleged that the said cabal introduced the new bill to truncate the original plan of the board.

Mr Abdullateef noted that there are still men of integrity among the lawmakers, adding that the ‘cabal’ knew at the time that if they introduced the section to them on the floor, they will vote against it.

“So what did they do? It was hidden somewhere, it was not part of what was passed by the National Assembly,” he said.

The embattled chair also said that the act gave the president the free hand to appoint competent Nigerians who are capable of becoming managing directors and executive directors.

“Now, they have tied the hands of the President and they said only someone recommended by Emefiele alone can be the Executive or Managing Director,” he said.

Mr Abdullateef, who wept in the video, called on Nigerians to not allow the new act to see the light of day. He also called on President Bola Tinubu to probe the new act.