Business

Six Banks Pay N155.45bn Into AMCON In Three Years

Published

8 years ago

June 25, 2018

Six commercial banks have made payments totalling N155.45 billion into the sinking fund of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) within three years.
Reports say that Access Bank, GTBank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Fidelity Bank, FCMB Group and Sterling Bank made the payments between 2015 and 2017.
Data obtained from the banks’ annual reports showed that Access Bank paid the highest amount of N39.59 billion; N12.06 billion in 2015, N12.06 billion in 2016 and N15.47 billion in 2017.
It was followed by GTBank which paid N35.09 billion; N10.63 billion in 2015, N11.39 billion in 2016 and N13.07 billion in 2017, respectively.
UBA contributed N34.85 billion; N11.08 billion in 2015, N11.08 billion in 2016 and N12.69 billion in 2017.
Reports also said that Fidelity Bank paid a total of N18.60 billion, being N5.94 billion paid in 2015, N6.16 billion in 2016 and N6.50 billion in 2017.
FCMB Group accounted for N16.94 billion, N5.66 billion in 2015, N5.62 billion in 2016 and N5.66 billion in 2017, while Sterling Bank contributed N12.38 billion, N4.13 billion in 2015, N4.04 billion in 2016 and N4.21 billion in 2017.
According to reports, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on January 1, 2011, signed an agreement with banks operating in the country to establish the AMCON sinking fund.
The agreement required the CBN to contribute N50 billion and the banks an equivalent of 0.3 per cent of their total assets as at the date of their audited financial statements, annually for ten years.
However, the contribution, a non-refundable levy on all banks in Nigeria, was increased to 0.5 per cent in 2013.
The fund does not represent any ownership interest, neither does it confer any rights or obligations (save to pay the levy) on the contributor.
The money from the fund is used to purchase Federal Government securities and the returns from the investment is redistributed among the contributing banks.
The sinking fund has, however, attracted opposition from shareholders of many banks who have called on the Federal Government to scrap it to enhance shareholders return.
Specifically, National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Boniface Okezie, called on the Federal Government to wind down AMCON.
Okezie said that shareholders had been shortchanged by the corporation, and that the contributions to the sinking fund would have translated to huge dividend to banks’ shareholders.
He said shareholders would resort to court action if government elongated the lifespan of AMCON.
“If government dares us and elongates the lifespan of the corporation, we will go to court to challenge the decision when the time comes,” Okezie said.
Also, Publicity Secretary, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr Moses Igbrude, said AMCON was an emergency toxic vehicle established by the government through the CBN and stakeholders then to save the situation at hand.
Igbrude said that the government needed to evaluate the performance of AMCON to ascertain if it met the expected set goals.
He noted that the corporation’s objective was to buy banks’ toxic assets to stabilise and to avoid the collapse of the financial sector.
Head of Banking and Finance Department, Nasarawa State University Keffi, Prof. Uche Uwaleke said that all over the world, asset management companies were crisis resolution vehicles with clear mandates and a clause that defines their terminal dates.
Uwaleke called for a review of the the operations of AMCON with a view to ascertaining its continued relevance to the country’s financial system.
He urged the government to examine the extent to which the corporation had helped to curb non-performing loans in the banking sector.
However, Prof. Sheriffdeen Tella of the Department of Economics, Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ogun is of the opinion that the problems that necessitated AMCON are yet to be fully resolved and it should be given more time to wind down.
“There is no need for the institution to wind down prematurely, else the need to resurrect it or bring up another body for the same job might be inevitable,” Tella said.
He said that the issue of unnecessary levy could be resolved by the intervention of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, the apex bank and AMCON.
AMCON’s Chief Executive, Mr Ahmed Kuru, said recently that with the recession, the rate at which banks’ assets were growing had reduced, affecting their contributions to the sinking fund.
Kuru said if banks’ debt to the CBN were not fully repaid before 2023 when the corporation is expected to wind down, they would continue to pay into the fund which will then be transferred to the CBN.

Business

Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members In Brass Water

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways

The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and members of his church were in a programme.

?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet to be recovered

as search party are still ongoing.

Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report, our Correspondent gathered that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.

The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit

The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s on the sad accident

By: CHINEDU WOSU

Business

Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

Published

2 days ago

May 18, 2026

The Tide

The Rivers State Council of Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.

Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.

He noted that the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.

According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.

He also informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.

“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.

Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.

The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.

He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.

The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.

He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.

Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.

By: King Onunwor

Business

FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

Published

1 week ago

May 13, 2026

The Tide

The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.

Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.

“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.

The minister noted the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.

According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.

Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.

He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.

“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.

He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.

“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.

Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.

“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.

“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.

Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.

She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.

Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).

“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.

“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.