Nigeria’s apex bank did not deny the plan to sell the bank for N40 billion after the government had invested over N1 trillion in it.
Following several reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to sell Polaris Bank Plc for N40 billion, the House of Representatives has directed an immediate suspension until due diligence is concluded.
SaharaReporters earlier reported Nigeria’s apex bank did not deny the plan to sell the bank for N40 billion after the government had invested over N1 trillion in it.
People’s Gazette had in August reported a plot by Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele to sell the bank which was nationalised with N1.2 trillion taxpayers’ funds in 2018 for a paltry N40 billion to Auwal Gombe, a son-in-law of a former military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida.
Following the report, renowned lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana wrote to the apex bank demanding details of the proposed sale. The bank, however, in its reply did not deny it.
Following several reports and the attendant outrage, the House of Representatives on Wednesday during plenary directed that the sale should be suspended, until the CBN, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) concluded all processes for an open, transparent, and competitive bid process.
Polaris Bank has been under the management of the debt recovery agency, AMCON since it was renamed and nationalised in 2018.
Skye Bank became bankrupt in 2016 and was unable to meet the recapitalisation requirements, leading to the intervention of the CBN. The top executives at the firm, Chairman, Tunde Ayeni; and the Managing Director, Timothy Oguntayo, were prosecuted for money laundering.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had filed a N25.4 billion lawsuit against Ayeni and Oguntayo in 2019, but it was withdrawn in July 2022, after an alleged settlement that led to the forfeiture of cash and assets worth N15 billion.
Since the takeover of Skye Bank, now known as Polaris Bank, AMCON has been unable to sell the bank to new investors, with AMCON and CBN pumping about N848 billion of taxpayers’ money as of December 2020 into the firm.
Reports, however, say that an extra N350 billion has been invested in the commercial bank by the two government agencies in the last one and a half years. This means about 96% of the investment by AMCON will be lost if Polaris Bank is sold at N40 billion, when pegged at N848 billion, and 97% loss based on the total sum of N1.2 trillion reportedly invested by the government agencies.