The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee, which investigated the "near collapse of the Nigerian capital market", Tuesday recommended that Mrs. Cecilia Ibru and Erastus Akingbola, former Managing Directors of the defunct Oceanic Bank International Plc and Intercontinental Bank Plc, respectively, be stripped of their national honours.

This formed part of the recommendation of the committee’s report, which was submitted at the close of plenary by its chairman Hon. Tukur El-Sudi, weeks after the investigation was concluded.

The report also came down hard on key financial system regulators and its past and present officials.

The committee advised that all former bank executives, who are recipients of national honours and are currently being prosecuted for crimes and unethical practices, which led to the collapse of their banks, be stripped of the honours.

Of the eight bank CEOs that were sacked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2009, Ibru was awarded the national honours, Member of the Federal Republic (MFR) and Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR), while Akingbola was conferred with an OFR for services to banking and the country.

But the CBN removed both chief executives and six others in 2009 after a joint audit conducted by the apex regulator and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) had discovered that their banks’ capital was impaired and that they were illiquid.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was later to arrest and prosecute them for running their institutions aground.

Ibru, who pleaded guilty, was convicted in a plea bargain, while Akingbola is still in court.

Also, the committee said that it had established that N8 billion got missing during the recapitalisation of Union Bank Plc through a public offer, concluding that investors’ funds were fraudulently diverted after the offer.

The report recommended that the past board and management of the bank, the CEO of the issuing house to the offer, the present members of the board and management including the managing director of the bank, "be investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission with a view to establishing the facts and recovering the missing funds."

In its most controversial move, the committee went on to assume a judicial role, interpreting the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, when it ruled that "the nationalisation of three banks and their subsequent change of names to Mainstreet Bank Limited, Keystone Bank Limited and Enterprise Bank Limited, was in violation of the AMCON Act, NDIC Act and Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution.

“The process of transfer (of ownership) was fraught with potential forgery, unethical practices, abuse of office and various unacceptable bad corporate governance precedents.”

After passing its judgement, the committee recommended that the transaction be reviewed and investigations carried out by EFCC on the Managing Director of NDIC, Mr. Umaru Ibrahim; Managing Director of AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi; as well as the Governor of the CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to establish their complicity in the deal.

It said that the Registrar General of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Mr. Bello Mahmud, and “all those who were used or offered themselves to be used in the various misrepresentations leading to the corporate registration of the nationalised banks” should be tracked and made to face the full wrath of the law.


Also recommended for prosecution were all the “faceless lawyers” and directors of the three nationalised banks.

The report said: “That the Governor of CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the CBN board is hereby cited for contempt of the House of Representatives having refused to produce, after demand, the Special Examination Report upon which the intervention in eight banks in August 2009 was based.

“That the CBN action in disbursing N620 billion bail-out funds and other intervention funds afterwards did not follow the due process of the law and the Constitution as the source of funds and the appropriate authority did not approve.”

The report also recommended that former CBN Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo; former CBN Director, Banking Supervision, Mr. Ignatius Imala; and Deputy Governor, Mr. Tunde Lemo, who were also in charge of banking supervision, be further investigated on account of their role in the banking sector crisis that led to the CBN intervention in eight banks in August 2009.

On the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the report said that the appointment of Ms. Arunma Oteh as Director General of SEC be terminated forthwith as her appointment was in violation of Section 3(2) and Section 38(1) and other sections of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA), as she did not have 25 years experience in the Nigeria capital market as required.


According to the report, “Oteh has shown incompetence in the management of the human and material resources at her disposal in SEC and displayed lack of transparency on the job.”

It also faulted the engagement of Access Bank staff by SEC, who are on secondment to the institution which regulates the same bank. The report stated that this is unethical and may erode investors' confidence and therefore the affected personnel should be disengaged immediately.

It also asked that SEC withdraws its nominees on the Council of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) as a way of further boosting investors' confidence.

In apparent frustration with Sanusi, Chike-Obi and Oteh, who repeatedly ignored the committee when it asked that they submit vital documents during the probe, it also recommended that trio be prosecuted by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for refusing to submit the documents


www.thisdaylive.com/articles/house-wants-ibru-akingbola-stripped-of-national-honours/120291/

It is in the best interest of Nigerian Government to desuade people from "making it at all cost" by employing best practices in scrutinizing the recepients of ANY National Honour/Award.

If possible, the committee should ask the citizenry for nominations and inputs via facebook and other social networks and a possible poll should be taken to asertain the credibility of the Awardees

Prosecute sanusi?I tot he was a saint.some jerks would want to make u think so.

Was it a probe into the Capital market or the banking sector crisis? I laugh at these jokes we call our representatives.

All the politicians that got national honour since 1999 should be stripped of it. This should also apply to chieftaincy titles.

.. Virtually everyone within the last 20 years should be stripped..

even the president should be stripped of his title

afam4eva: All the politicians that got national honour since 1999 should be stripped of it. This should also apply to chieftaincy titles.

They were initially honored when d govt. thought they were good citizens.nw that they've realised they were bloody citizens,they shud be dishonoured...QED!

They should take the bull by the horn, by stripping their selves of all their tittles first.... The only diff' between them and the culprits is that they'r yet to be caught, btw, when r they going to sack farouk lawan...?

afam4eva: All the politicians that got national honour since 1999 should be stripped of it. This should also apply to chieftaincy titles.

Gbam!

make dem no strip the honour but change the honour abeg

afam4eva: All the politicians that got national honour since 1999 should be stripped of it. This should also apply to chieftaincy titles.

Dem don unban you?

A case of kettle calling pot black
See who is recommending stripping of national honour
Useless lgislooters are still talking
What concrete thing have they done to farouk lawan who is a national thief
When obj called everone of them thieves and rogues what was their shameless defence.
Idiots.

i have always said this, how come the likes of unity bank survived the CBN liquidity test of these banks and the likes of oceanic and intercontinental did not. if SLS has nothing to hide, why dont he submit his examination upon which his sack of the bank MDs was based.

it is just unfortunate that in this country, people only examine critical national issues on the bases of ethnicity.

Nationalising those three banks killed them even before they opened for business.

someday somehow, ethnicity will die and we will once again see national issues objectively.

Of what value is National Honours ?

That means we will have to scrape the national assembly cos their senatorship and honourable status would have been stripped off. Bunch of robbers tryin to punish mere thieves.

Even 70% of the Yoruba SANs should be stripped...

afam4eva: All the politicians that got national honour since 1999 should be stripped of it. This should also apply to chieftaincy titles.

Afam Ɣ☺Ʊ are back!

ypzilanti:

Dem don unban you?

After all d noice

Nigeria is a den of thieves, no one is a saint here the legislooters, the Bank chiefs (those found guilty and those allowed to walk about freely with their loots bc of Godfatherism and Sanuni's shield), Sanusi himself dat sold away big banks to his cronies at take away price, NDIC and AMCON. Honestly this country is a big joke and i laugh when some ignoramous think some of these rogues in power are "cleansing" the financial industry. As a matter of fact that industry is almost dead now as Bankers are losing their jobs on daily basis.
And by the way who is interested in collecting national awards from thieves in power? until people are able to mimick men of integrity like Chinua Achebe, who called d bluff of fed govt on national award? National award my foot! when masses are hungry, roads are bad, no job, no security, no light. No nothing!!!! and people are celebrating national award. abegiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

afam4eva: All the politicians that got national honour since 1999 should be stripped of it. This should also apply to chieftaincy titles.

Thank you my brother, You make sense, the reason Seun and his girl friend should not try and ban you again, But I stil like Nigeriakwenu

Rightly said untill we are able to mimick people of integrity, people who put fair of God in their mind.

sessydoo: Nigeria is a den of thieves, no one is a saint here the legislooters, the Bank chiefs (those found guilty and those allowed to walk about freely with their loots bc of Godfatherism and Sanuni's shield), Sanusi himself dat sold away big banks to his cronies at take away price, NDIC and AMCON. Honestly this country is a big joke and i laugh when some ignoramous think some of these rogues in power are "cleansing" the financial industry. As a matter of fact that industry is almost dead now as Bankers are losing their jobs on daily basis.
And by the way who is interested in collecting national awards from thieves in power? until people are able to mimick men of integrity like Chinua Achebe, who called d bluff of fed govt on national award? National award my foot! when masses are hungry, roads are bad, no job, no security, no light. No nothing!!!! and people are celebrating national award. abegiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

ebamma: even the president should be stripped of his title

very funny...u got me laughing real good.
Lol...

ballabriggs: Was it a probe into the Capital market or the banking sector crisis? I laugh at these jokes we call our representatives.

You definitely have little understanding of the Nigerian Capital Market vis-a-vis the nationalization of those banks and the fraudulent indictment of share price manipulations / insiders' dealings levied against Ibru and Akingbola. Always have adequate knowledge about issues before making condemning comments.

Anyway, Good call by the Reps. Hope they will follow this through.

Oya, make dem start. I will affect them too.

For the first time I can see our Reps trying to call a spade a spade here. Stripping Eras and Ibru of title is only a minute part of their recommendations. The recommendations really make sense and if followed through, Nigerians might be in on another "Can of Worms" waiting to be opened. This might expose shady dealings of those masquerading themselves as revolutionist of the financial sector and the economy at large. Time will tell.

chyseth: i have always said this, how come the likes of unity bank survived the CBN liquidity test of these banks and the likes of oceanic and intercontinental did not. if SLS has nothing to hide, why dont he submit his examination upon which his sack of the bank MDs was based.

it is just unfortunate that in this country, people only examine critical national issues on the bases of ethnicity.

Nationalising those three banks killed them even before they opened for business.

The truth is soludo quietly bail-out some banks while in office, unity bank was one of them. he simply injected funds into them and ensure overhaul of their management.
If you expect any report from SLS, youre wasting your time. do you know why? because the criteria he used for those banks, no bank in this country can survive it even FBN. so what did that tell you? the cabal wanted some people & some banks out of business.
SLS is not what he pretends to be nor practice what he preaches; in fact, he is just another m-o-d-a-f-o-k-a like faruk lawan. lazy bunch of golddiggers.

ikooko:
The truth is soludo quietly bail-out some banks while in office, unity bank was one of them. he simply injected funds into them and ensure overhaul of their management.
If you expect any report from SLS, youre wasting your time. do you know why? because the criteria he used for those banks, no bank in this country can survive it even FBN. so what did that tell you? the cabal wanted some people & some banks out of business.
SLS is not what he pretends to be nor practice what he preaches; in fact, he is just another m-o-d-a-f-o-k-a like faruk lawan. lazy bunch of golddiggers.

Well said bro. Read my comment just above your. But i will advise that you should not blow it yet as some pro SLS will come out gun blazing after you. I dont blame them; THEY KNOW NOT. Letz hope the reps will follow this through. LAWAN and OTE$ saga will be a dwarf beside this one.

... and bode george, tafa balogun, aondoaka, faruk lawan can keep their national honors.
They should first investigate what happened in our financial sectors and activities surrounding sls intervention.
well i dont have any confidence in our national assembly, they are thieves and touts but i honestly hope they will proof me wrong.

afam4eva: All the politicians that got national honour since 1999 should be stripped of it. This should also apply to chieftaincy titles.

Are u not making sense on this? I think u r making a lot of sense!