I may not totally agree with the newspaper report but I think Sanusi's action from the of his appointment to date has shown strong support for that claim:
1.The first set of 5 banks may have problems,infact serious problem but Sanusi exaggerated and sensationalized every news that had to do with the banking sector.
2.Sanusi has also been using thesame media some of us accuse of propaganda to also spread aparthy and fear(which has done too much harm than good) in the name of giving information to the public,like I will always say too much information can be detrimental to anyone let alone a majorly illiterate public. I get angry everytime Mr Sanusi comes on air, he's so quick to discuss the endless problems of the five banks and his actions but lacks thesame alacrity and depth when it comes to the solutions.It's obvious the man underestimated the problem his actions could cause and had no clear plans to conclude this whole brouhaha besides sacking and replacing the CEOs, Pumping government funds (which to me is an introduction to nationalizing these banks) and then watch and pray believing things will work out,any slowpoke can do thesame.Nobody is even asking what will happen if some of these newly CEOs fail to deliver,the problem in the banking system goes beyond NPL and lending without colateral(which is not in all cases true),these are inherent with banking business,every bank incurs NPL and lend certain ppl money based on certain agreements other than colateral, besides many things can serve as colateral.Let's not forget that the Nigerian economy is solely based on oil and and the capital market is also somewhat driven by thesame oil,our capital market collapsed because it was soaring on an artificial economy that was even non-existent,no real sector,no manufacturing sector,the banking sector alone accounted for more than 65% of the capital share then U have to talk about the global crisis which starved funds to these banks and saw some foreign investors divest their investment in Nigeria,oil prices went down and so on.
Mr Sanusi was too hasty(which is why I have never approved of his style,he lacks the finesse for solving the problem) with his announcement and his constant playing to the gallery did'nt help matters,he kept unwittingly giving infos that would ve been better as classified to a public that was still recuperating from the stock market crash.Sometimes I wonder if he does't do that unpurpose in the guise of informing the public,which stupid public?An average Nigerian does't understand and does't care about those financial jargons as long as no zeroes in the amount he has in the accounts of any of those banks does't deplet.
I am yet to understand fully the real reasons for his off-balance actions except for thier negetive implications and there's more reasons to believe that these banks might end up nationalized and automatically northernized because they form the bulk of our "Kunu" politics.So yes there's some truth in that vanguard report.However,am going to keep seeing everybody as guilty of thier accusations until they are proven innocent!

How many of the new bank MD/CEOs are Northerners?

Chief you asked this question before but i thought it was a mistake but to ask it a second time I am very tempted to ask how old you are_{and mayb not if you are done with primary school edu}Otherwise how would anyone think sanusi with all the heat and suspicion around his reform will still appoint notherners as MDs of banks run by southerners. . .a non-brainer

calyx:

Chief you asked this question before but i thought it was a mistake but to ask it a second time I am very tempted to ask how old you are_{and mayb not if you are done with primary school edu}Otherwise how would anyone think sanusi with all the heat and suspicion around his reform will still appoint notherners as MDs of banks run by southerners. . .a non-brainer

You are simply a waste of orgasm. When idiots like you cannot defend a position they resort to diversionary personal attacks to hide their stupidity.

Again with the mind reading, next you will tell me what Sanusi ate last night and what he will eat tomorrow afternoon, silly pig.

From the same pig on another section

Forums / Career / Re: Chemical/process Engineers Forum on: September 02, 2009, 02:37 PM
Hi House,

Pls am scheduled to do an exam that has to do with chemical/ process engineering - mainly bachelors degree level and mainly calculations. I studied materials engineering for my bachelors anyway.

Could anyone help me with materials to prepare for this exam. possibly downloadable materials. Thanks

calyx:

Chief you asked this question before but i thought it was a mistake but to ask it a second time I am very tempted to ask how old you are_{and mayb not if you are done with primary school edu}Otherwise how would anyone think sanusi with all the heat and suspicion around his reform will still appoint notherners as MDs of banks run by southerners. . .a non-brainer

Your brain works dude.

Afam:

So, you guys are claiming or maintaining that the 5 sacked bank CEOs were in charge of the 5 leading banks in Nigeria. Is this correct?

Just answer this fundamental question as it goes a long way in making things clear.

I think Vanguard's report said '5 top banks' not 5 leading or 5 topmost banks.

If they wanted to take over 5 banks do you think that they will go for the 5 top banks? That will raise suspicion. By the way, why is it that the 5 banks that initially passed the test were mandated to go the market raise extra fund. First bank is going to raise 500B naira, does that not mean anything?

agabaI23:

I think Vanguard's report said '5 top banks' not 5 leading or 5 topmost banks.

If they wanted to take over 5 banks do you think that they will go for the 5 top banks? That will raise suspicion. By the way, why is it that the 5 banks that initially passed the test were mandated to go the market raise extra fund. First bank is going to raise 500B naira, does that not mean anything?

See full article below

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Nigeria: Group Plots Takeover of Five Top Banks

Omoh Gabriel and Emeka Mamah23 March 2009
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ANTI-CONSOLIDATION forces have regrouped with the hope of dismantling the structures and forcing a takeover of the top five banks in the country, Vanguard can now reveal.

The grand plan by the group is to cause panic and uncertainty in the industry and make the target banks look unsafe for depositors.


Meantime, indications emerged yesterday that the Federal Government may announce the names of a new Governor of the Central Bank (CBN) and the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF) in April just a few weeks before the tenure of the incumbents run out.

However, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has expressed concern over what it described as the rapidly deteriorating liquidity situation in the banking industry and tasked the Central Bank (CBN) to make public information on causes of the development as well as the scale of the crisis.

Vanguard investigations revealed that the aim of the anti-consolidation forces is to cause loss of public confidence in the banking industry and compel the Federal Government to move in by injecting funds. Further, they ultimately plan to instigate government to take equity holdings in the targeted banks.

Vanguard gathered that the group at work is made up of former bank owners who lost out during the consolidation exercise, a powerful clique in the present government, and some aggrieved persons in three of the six geopolitical zones in the country who felt left out in the consolidation exercise.

Presidency sources disclosed that those who felt left out in the consolidation exercise are up in arms to recoup what they felt they lost during Obasanjo years.

Part of the plans hatched by the group is to ensure that the incumbent Governor of the Central Bank, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, does not get a second term. The plan is also to ensure that whatever gains consolidation recorded are discredited. This, it was learnt, was meant to force the President to act quickly in the matter of appointment of a successor to Soludo as they anticipate that the president's slow move may scuttle their dreams and cause the renewal of Soludo's re-appointment for a second term.



The group's second game plan is to make Nigerian banks look unsafe in the eye of the banking public. Part of the game is to spread rumours that some banks are unsound and are on the verge of collapse. They send out text messages to individuals and account holders passing wrong information on their target banks. At the moment, the group's target is one of the high-flying new generation banks where they have sent out several messages.

New CBN Gov, Auditor-General to emerge April

The tenure of the CBN Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo and Auditor-General of the Federation, Mr. O. R. Ejenavi from Delta State will lapse in May 2009.

Naming nominees for the top jobs, according to a presidency source, will afford the Senate ample opportunity to work on them before they assume office.

While Soludo will complete his first term in office as CBN governor by May 29, Ejenavi will be due for retirement on age grounds on May 18.

However, among those being considered for the position of CBN governor include the Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman from Kano, who was a former Finance minister and deputy governor at the apex bank; another former CBN deputy governor, Obadiah Mailafia from Nassarawa, Mallam Isa Hayatudeen from Borno, a former managing director of FSB International Bank, incumbent Managing Director of First Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, also from Kano, and Mallam Falalu Bello from Kaduna, Managing Director, Unity Bank.


But the most touted name so far is that of Mallam Isa Yuguda, the Bauchi State governor who won election on the platform of the All Nigeria peoples Party, ANPP, but defected to the ruling PDP last week. Yuguda is also an in-law of President Umaru Yar'Adua. Yuguda was also a former Managing Director of Inland Bank, a legacy bank in post-consolidation FinBank.

Past CBN governors include late Dr. Clement Isong (Akwa-Ibom), Alhaji Adamu Ciroma (Yobe); Mr. Ola Vincent (Lagos), late Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed (Bauchi); Mr. Paul Ogwuma (Abia), Dr. Joseph Sanusi (Ondo) and the current Professor Charles Soludo (Anambra).

It was also gathered that strict obedience to civil service rules will be observed in the appointment of a new Auditor General for the Federation going by the constitutional provision.

Section 86 Subsection 1 of the 1999 constitution states: "the Auditor-General for the Federation shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Federal Civil Service Commission, subject to the confirmation of the Senate." That of the CBN may be determined by other factors, mostly political considerations which are at the pleasure of the President without recourse to the commission.

The most senior director in the office of the Auditor-General currently is Mr. Ogunsina G.F from Ekiti State who may be appointed unless there is political maneuvering. Having been a director since 2004, it may not be smooth sailing for Ogunsina because, there is another senior civil servant Mr. Osonuga T. A. from Ogun State who was promoted a director in 2007 and is being propelled by other forces to occupy the office.

It's unfortunate top 5 banks are targeted, says official

A CBN official who spoke on condition of anonymity said that it is unfortunate that top five banks are the target. The banks, he said, are sound. The CBN had mistaken in the past the ongoing move as de-marketing by competitors in the banking industry, saying it is unhealthy competition.


The group is using this means to make depositors panic and undertake massive withdrawal of funds from the targeted banks in an attempt to cause liquidity problem in the bank. In that state they hope to cause a take over by the government which may buy a stake in the bank and later sell to members of the privileged group who may be appointed in the interim into the board of the banks.

Arewa worries over liquidity problem

However, the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) expressed concern over what it described as the rapidly deteriorating liquidity situation in the banking industry and tasked the Central Bank (CBN) to inform the people the cause of the development as well as the scale of the crisis.

ACF said that the commercial banks must have obviously lent too much money to people who either invested them in buying stocks or in the importation of petroleum products in the country, but are unable to repay such loans.

A statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the Forum, Mr. Anthony Sani however blamed the CBN for enquiring "into the volume of the so-called toxic assets of the commercial banks while refusing to tell Nigerians how or why in the first place, the banks found themselves in trouble.

The statement reads "The Working Committee of the National Executive Council of the Arewa Consultative

Forum (ACF) held its meeting at its national headquarters in Kaduna on Tuesday, the 17th of March 2009. In attendance were all National officers of the ACF drawn from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). General IBM Haruna, the Chairman presided.

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"Among other things, the meeting reviewed and discussed a number of issues and other troubling developments in the country. At the end, it resolved to issue the following statement.

"The ACF deliberated on the rapidly deteriorating liquidity situation in the banking industry and observed that Nigerians are feeling increasingly frustrated by the failure of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to disclose the true the true nature and the scale of the crisis.

"Even members of the National Assembly, despite their best efforts, have been unable to get to the truth of the matter.

According to Arewa consultative forum "All that seem obvious is that our commercial banks had lent out too much money to too many people who had invested them in stocks or petroleum importation but who are now unable to pay back. Beyond that, the public has no clear idea as how or why the loans were given and on what terms."


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Afam,

The title still says 5 top banks and I am not sure that changed in the body of the article either.

agabaI23:

Afam,

The title still says 5 top banks and I am not sure that changed in the body of the article either.

Were the first 5 banks that had their CEOs sacked the top banks in Nigeria?

Even the same investigative journalism in the same article stated that the most touted name in the race for Soludo's replacement was Mallam Isa Yuguda, the Bauchi state governor.

Was that a mistake or was Yar'adua afraid of appointing Yuguda?

The article was also specific on the groups that were plotting to take over the 5 banks.

We are being fed with lots of misinformation and conspiracy theories and you expect me to believe them even when the facts on ground don't support them?

So, now that we have 8 banks with sacked CEOs would it be ok to believe that the plan to hijack the 5 banks has hit the rocks or is this still part of the game plan?

Give me facts please, not what you think Sanusi thinks or what he will do what he changes his mind.

Afam:

Were the first 5 banks that had their CEOs sacked the top banks in Nigeria?

Even the same investigative journalism in the same article stated that the most touted name in the race for Soludo's replacement was Mallam Isa Yuguda, the Bauchi state governor.

Was that a mistake or was Yar'adua afraid of appointing Yuguda?

The article was also specific on the groups that were plotting to take over the 5 banks.

We are being fed with lots of misinformation and conspiracy theories and you expect me to believe them even when the facts on ground don't support them?
Politics is dynamic and the players change positions to remain invisible in order to actualise their aim. I am not insisting that SLS has ulterior motive but is hard to believe that there is none going by the method he chose to use which created some doubt about the safety of the banks as was predicted in the article.

You can agree with me that at least 3 of the 5 will fall within the top 8 banks in the country. We have 24 banks in the country and any bank within that falls in the first 12 is top relative to the rest.
As i said earlier, politics is dynamic what makes you think that the plotters did not read the revelation in March. If I was one one of them I would mix up my target to rubbish the publication make it seem untrue. 

So, now that we have 8 banks with sacked CEOs would it be ok to believe that the plan to hijack the 5 banks has hit the rocks or is this still part of the game plan?

Give me facts please, not what you think Sanusi thinks or what he will do what he changes his mind.

Politics is dynamic and the players change positions to remain invisible in order to actualise their aim. I am not insisting that SLS has ulterior motive but it is hard to believe that there is none going by the method he chose to use which created some doubt about the safety of the banks as was predicted in the article.

You can agree with me that at least 3 of the 5 will fall within the top 8 banks in the country. We have 24 banks in the country and any bank within that falls in the first 12 is top relative to the rest.
As i said earlier, politics is dynamic what makes you think that the plotters did not read the revelation in March. If I was one one of them I would mix up my target to rubbish the publication make it seem untrue.

I still don't get why we are debating whether the banks taken over are top or not.

The status of these banks does not negate the fact that there was and still is a co-ordinated attempt to take over these banks without liaising with the major shareholders of the bank. This runs contrary BOFID act.

The Vanguard also predicted that the strategy is to destroy confidence in the system so that whatever agenda they have would materialise easily. Curiously since Sanusi came into office he has spent more times talking down the economy and the whole banking system than anything else.

You know what I have seen most times on Nairaland is that when you echo sentiments that people agree with then to them you are being 'objective' but if you hold a contrary opinion then you are either being sentimental or tribalistic.

Some are even suggesting that its ok for CBN to speak from both sides of their mouth and that misinformation from the CBN is more acceptable than a percieved misinformation from the media.
Well media houses are media houses, they are there to break whatever in their assessment they consider as news. What you make of those news is entirely up to you. To you they can be lies and spin but it only takes a civilised mind to realise that others are well in their right to consider the same news as based on facts.

However the CBN does not have the luxury of giving informations that mean different things to different people, nor do they have the luxury of saying one thing this week and saying the direct opposite the following week. Reason being if we live in a country where no records, results or statements by the No.1 monetary regulatory institution can not stand the test of time, not even a two week cycle then we are all in trouble. Why should investors, foreign banks or whoever take us seriously if the CBN can not be trusted to give accurate informations? What is the future of business in such a country? Market Forces react to Human Behaviour towards the market, this is Economics 101 and the actions of our honourable CBN Governor does not sound like someone who understands this fundamental fact.

As for me the most important question will continue to be why is the CBN all over the place with its info? Why did the same CBN who claimed that they do not expect any further dramas or sacks of any bank MDs just two weeks ago turn arround to sack a further 3?

Do we have a CBN Governor who acts before they think? These are the serious issues at stake not the near accurate predictions of vanguard.

I think we need to be very careful with this CBN thing i watched an interview with Sanusi sometimes ago and i agree that the media do blow issues out of context especially where a speaker says one thing and newspapers interprete it as another. For instance when Vanguard came out with their article in March who was the CBN governor then? Can we get references to statements made by Sanusi himself in his own words not someone trying to explain what Sanusi said. A lot has been said about how wrong the move by Sanusi was but can we just look out the beginning of the present global economic crisis, Lehman Brothers crashed but the Bush administartn knew about Lehman bros weaknesses and failed to help. Thats one of the reasons the Obama admin decided to inject govt funds into some failing institutions because of the devastating effects they would have on the economy. Govt intervention in the private sector is necessary looking at the recent move by the US govt to get Swiss banks to reveal US citizens who are evading tax.

Also that PHB was declared unhealthy and Unity bank was told to recapitalise doesnt say Unity bank was better, many of these CEOs had to shoulder the responsibility for the problems in their respective institutions. Besides its quite possible that a lot of these institutions just use publicity stunts to make them look good when in fact there house is in disarray. Let me just say we need to look at this issue from all perspectives not just saying its a Northern agenda or they are trying to sell off banks to outsiders without any concrete proof to show. Sanusi himself declared in an interview that he went to London to ease the fears of foreign entities doing business or with existing interests in Nigerian banks that there investments were safe.

Please lets be more objective in our analysis of the issue am not saying Sanusi is right in all ramifications but am saying a lot of the wrong he is accused of really has no basis.

Kq,

Sanusi said in an interview, did you also read what he said in London?

Meanwhile it was Bush's admistration that started the intervention which Obama pushed through. He did something about it.

If Unity bank is liquid good and fine why was it asked to recapitalise?

I take everything I read from the press with a pinch of salt, they are all propagandists.

I'll say it is too early to debate Vanguard's claim. I think we should wait and see how it turns out. We should wait for at least six months before we start this debate.

Although Vanguard's story was much of hearsay, SLS manner of takeover of the first five banks lent credence to the story. It was pure Gestapo style! The CEOs were sent packing. EFCC was called in and to detained them even before obtaining evidence of wrongdoing. EFCC wanted to hold them until it can find evidence! Can you imagine that? Do you make arrests before establishing the charge?

Afam was asking for hard facts. I doubt you're going to get that on a public forum like this. Nobody is going to present minutes of clandestine meetings or publish official documents here. Did you know the criteria used for the first five banks at the time? Do you know the findings? Did CBN deny that it did not show the CEOs its findings before they were removed? Why should I not believe that a conspiracy is going on?

Do you know how the Abacha failed bank tribunals ended? Abacha's family and friends ended up 'buying' the assets of most of the failed banks.

I'm not insinuating that SLS has ulterior motives. I'm also not saying that he does not. However, banking is an industry that thrives on trust. You don't destroy the trust and expect applause. You have to think through your decisions before taking them. SLS can achieve the same results without taking decisions that breeds mistrust. SLS style is exactly how not to manage the banking industry. CBN’s action only publicised Vanguard’s story. A lot of us only got to read the story after CBN’s action. Vanguard is just doing its job. It should be applauded for being bold enough! Will a little bit of transparency help SLS case? Are we still going to be suspicious if he makes the results of all the audits public so that we see for ourselves?

Caution, my people. C-A-U-T-I-O-N-U. That is what I advocate here. If You ask me I will say. Let us give this people time to come out fully. No matter how we argue it, me thinks some hasty decisions were taken by people who should know better.
Some time in the past, some knowledgeable people asked for some support measures to assist the capital market and cusion the effect of the economic melt down in the country. This was turned down. Today, N620B is being injected to cover up shortfalls partly created by deals in the Capital market.
MERICINE AFTA DET!!!
As for take over or sell of banks. The banks are as good as sold. At the prize some of the shares are going, one only needs the right amount of funds and the necesary mechanism to get hold of the ownership. Shareholders are dumping their shares like hot coal. As for who these banks are being packaged for, I do not really care provided they come out better and stronger with Minimal pain to the stakeholders and staff.
As someone pointed out earlier here. The apex bank is giving an ironical situation by punishing the banks for giving out loans. To salvage the situation, they are doing the same thing the are punishing people for. How are they so sure that these banks will pay back? As for the government running these banks in an event of default. A huge laugh. Infact, the moment I hear they are taking over any of the banks am pulling any N1 I have there. We all know how good they are managing things. The Federal roads, that reminds me, my girl is sitting in a bus practically packed along Ore High Way- (time 1.45 am) She left the East by 8 Am yesterday for a test in Lagos.How about NITEL, PHCN and I believe you can name the rest.

Caution, my people, caution.

@poster

[size=18pt]Na now you dey sabi say Nigerian newspapers don't have journalistic integrity?[/size]

Like Someone said, "The CBN is doing the right thing the VERY wrong way". Misinformation (or the lack of complete information) breeds insinuations. If Sanusi had done things properly (e.g Completed the audit of all banks before taking any action, published its findings, respected the rule of law instead of hounding people with EFCC before any evidence was presented) all the conspiracy theories would have lacked any hint of credibility. As it is now, knowing the Nigeria we live in, nobody can categorically say Sanusi has no hidden agenda. Imagine admittedly going around the world 'hawking' these banks to prospective buyers without due process or consultations with shareholders.

Simple story. . .Sanusi is a piece piss of pork!

You people especially the Sanusi's proteges/folks should go through the story below as carried by today's guardian.

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/news/article03//indexn2_html?pdate=101009&ptitle=How%20Sanusi%20Allegedly%20Set%20Banks%20MDs%20Up


How Sanusi Allegedly Set Banks MDs Up [/b]

By Onyedika Agbedo

AGAINST the backdrop of the recent sacking of three more bank MDs, by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), bringing the number of banks whose managing and executive directors have been sacked to eight, analysts have continued to look at the critical reasons behind the controversial 'reforms' by the apex bank.
Industry sources alleged that most of the banks affected by the reforms were wittingly or unwittingly set up for the circumstances that eventually led to the sack of their directors.
For instance, it is being alleged that the CBN's deliberate and sudden switch from Expanded Discount Window (EDW) to Inter-bank market signalled the beginning of erosion of liquidity and stability in the banking sector.
Sources alleged that through a text message on June 16, this year, the CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had directed nine banks managing directors to proceed to Inter-bank henceforth "in view of the closure of EDW."
According to the source, banks going to EDW did not mean they had problems. "It was a trading window popularly called arbitraging in money market. It is not a liquidity window. At EDW, banks borrow at 10 per cent interest and lend at between 14 per cent and above," claimed the source.
The Guardian also gathered that 23 of the 24 banks were at the EDW with Standard Chartered Bank being the only exception and that out of the 23 banks, 11 were regular at the EDW.
At the time of CBN's first intervention, FinBank, for instance, The Guardian learnt, had taken N50 billion which it placed in other banks. It had Inter-bank placements with other banks totalling N45 billion. This was the same setting for Union and Intercontinental Banks.
"When Sanusi shut EDW without notice, the banks were predictably caught in-between and naturally requested enough time to enable them to recover the money they had already lent out to other banks. The CBN refused on the grounds that the window was inappropriate.
"Sanusi instead directed them to go to 'Inter-bank' and went ahead to introduce 'Guaranteed Inter-bank'. The banks were now forced to patronise this in compliance with his text message of June 16."
The source said: " If Sanusi had given the banks the shortest loan tenures of 90 days notice (but did not because he had already made up his mind to undermine them) these monies lent out would have come back. The contradictions in the debtors' list showed that the money was back between June, July and August whereas CBN cut off date was May 31, this year. This was the major reason why CBN's debtors list was so controversial."



I pray God saves us,the economy and Nigeria before it is too late.

Leksider:

You people especially the Sanusi's proteges/folks should go through the story below as carried by today's guardian.

And you were sent by Ibru or Erastus, right?

2 posts all directed at the same Guardian news story, wonderful.