Condemnations and protestants have continued to trail the list of new bank debtors released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) during the week, just as it has assured foreign and correspondent banks that it would pay up any obligation in the event that any of the troubled banks could not meet up their debt obligations.
While some of the alleged debtors opined that the apex bank did not do its home work well before making the pronouncement, others have described the circumstance as a manifestation of the high level of inefficiency in the CBN system.
According to an analyst, Dr. Osaro Obobaifo, the denials and reactions that greeted the debtors’ list since it was made public by the CBN, without a corresponding explanation or clarifications from the apex bank ,showed that the CBN has goofed again.
Obobaifo noted that “the list calls for worries over the reform agenda embarked upon by the CBN Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, on assumption of office in June this year, and stressed that every one expected the banking sector regulators to have, painstakingly, come out with a correct list devoid of any contestation.”
On his part, the National President, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), Mr. Boniface Okezie, emphasized that the debtors’ list was quite misleading,but regrettable, stating that it once again proved that it is the apex bank that actually needed reforms.
Okezie, who put the whole banking sector crisis on the door step of the CBN, stressed that the apex bank is only trying to wriggle itself out of the problem it has created for itself.
It would be recalled that prominent individuals and corporate organizations, such as Chief Tony Anenih, Pat Utomi, Ben Murray-Bruce and Futures View, among others, had come forward to either deny or put the records straight on the debts they are alleged to owe the troubled banks.
This same scenario played out when the apex bank released the list of debtors after the first phase of the audit examination exercise in August this year.
Following protests by individuals and corporate organizations, the apex bank admitted it made errors on the list of Nigerians owing the five troubled banks, whose total debts amount to N1.1 trillion, acknowledging mistakes regarding the titles of government officials and companies on the list.