CBN Headquarters, Abuja

Shortly after the dissolution of the Boards and Management of Union Bank, Keystone Bank, and Polaris Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took swift action by appointing new executives to oversee the operations of these three banks.

In an announcement made by the CBN spokesperson, Sidi Hakama, Yetunde Oni was named as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, with Mannir Ringim appointed as the bank’s Executive Director. Keystone Bank now has Hassan lmam as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, accompanied by Chioma Mang as the Executive Director. For Polaris Bank, Lawal Akintola assumed the role of Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and Chris Ofikulu was appointed as the Executive Director.

The CBN emphasized that these appointments are effective immediately and were necessitated by the non-compliance of the banks and their respective boards with the provisions of Section 12(c), (f), (g), (h) of the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020. The regulatory authority cited infractions ranging from regulatory non-compliance and corporate governance failure to disregarding the conditions under which their licenses were granted and involvement in activities that posed a threat to financial stability.

The move to replace the leadership of these banks followed the removal of their boards by the apex bank. The CBN clarified that these actions were taken due to a variety of infractions committed by the banks, including regulatory non-compliance and corporate governance failures.

Amidst these developments, there were speculations that the Federal Government might take over some banks following a report by CBN special investigator Jim Obazee, which implicated former bank chief Godwin Emefiele. However, the CBN dismissed these speculations, assuring depositors of the safety of their funds.

Jim Obazee, appointed CBN Special Investigator in July 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, had alleged that Emefiele used proxies to establish two financial institutions. In December 2021, Union Bank announced its acquisition by Titan Trust Bank (TTB). TTB, operational since 2019, formalized the deal six months later with Babatunde Lemo as the chairman. However, the deal faced controversy after fresh revelations emerged from the Obazee panel.