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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
Few hours after dissolving the board of directors of Polaris, Union and Keystone Banks, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appointed new executive directors to oversee the affairs of the deposit money banks.
The apex bank, in a statement issued in the early hours of Thursday by its acting Director of Corporate Communications, Sidi Hakama, said the appointment takes immediate effect.
According to the statement, Yetunde Oni, the first female Chief Executive Officer of Standard Chartered Bank in Sierra Leone, was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, while Mannir Ubali Ringim was named as the Executive Director of the tier-2 bank.
Hassan Imam was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Bank, while Chioma Mang got the position of Executive Director
CBN also appointed Lawal Mudathir Omokayode Akintola as the Chief Executive Officer of Polaris Bank, and Chris Ofikulu as its Executive Director.
“Following the dissolution of the Board and Management of Union Bank, Keystone Bank and Polaris Bank on Wednesday, January 10, the CBN has appointed new executives to oversee the affairs of the banks.
“The appointments take immediate effect,” the statement said.
Recall that the apex bank had on Wednesday night sacked the entire board of four banks for grievous infringements of financial laws.
It said the banks’ infractions vary from regulatory non-compliance, corporate governance failure, disregarding the conditions under which their licences were granted, and involvement in activities that posed a threat to financial stability, among others.
Hence, CBN, in the exercise of its regulatory powers, said the dissolution of the boards became necessary due to the non-compliance of the banks and their respective boards with the provisions of the Financial Institutions Act, 2020.
The dissolution followed the recommendation of the Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2023, to probe the activities of the CBN and other financial entities.
The report of the special investigation into the activities of the CBN had accused the immediate past Governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele, of acquiring banks for himself through proxies.
The report stated that Emefiele used proxies to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria for Titan Trust Bank Limited and Keystone Bank without any evidence of payment.