Financial Trust Group has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to intervene in its 30-year dispute with the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) over alleged unaccounted liquidation proceeds and dividends from two defunct banks.
The Group said the funds were due to the estate of its late founder, Dr Olufemi Ajayi, who it said had significant interests in Financial Merchant Bank Limited and Republic Bank Limited before their licences were revoked in 1994 and 1995, respectively.
In a statement, the company called on the NDIC to publish comprehensive, independently verifiable and audited accounts of assets realised from the liquidation of the two banks, liabilities settled and any surplus remaining for distribution.
It also urged Tinubu to direct the corporation to resolve the matter in accordance with applicable laws and its statutory responsibilities.
“Financial Trust Group calls upon the management of the NDIC, under the Renewed Hope agenda of the Federal Government, to immediately uphold transparency, adhere to statutory obligations, and disburse all accumulated liquidation surpluses and dividends owed to the Estate of Late Otunba W.O.O. Ajayi without further delay,” the statement said.
The Group argued that the absence of what it considers a satisfactory account of the liquidation proceeds after three decades raises questions about regulatory accountability, shareholders’ rights and the treatment of indigenous investors in Nigeria’s financial sector.
It cited an NDIC announcement published in The Guardian on October 2, 2023, in which the corporation declared N16.18bn in liquidation dividends for depositors, creditors and shareholders of 20 banks in liquidation.
According to FTC Group, Financial Merchant Bank and Republic Bank were among the institutions covered by the announcement and were expected to receive an estimated N2bn from the recoveries and realised assets.
The Group said depositors and creditors of the two banks had long been paid, citing NDIC annual reports, and questioned why shareholders and other entitled parties had not received a comprehensive account of the remaining assets and any distributable surplus.
It maintained that applicable statutory provisions require residual assets to be distributed to shareholders and contributories after depositors and creditors have been satisfied.
“Justice deferred for 30 years is accountability denied. The financial regulatory framework must honour the integrity of indigenous pioneers who built Nigeria’s financial architecture,” the Group said.
FTC Group added that repeated attempts to resolve the matter had not produced a satisfactory outcome, leaving the Ajayi family and associated legacy entities without access to what it described as their legitimate financial entitlements.
Group revisits circumstances surrounding bank closures
The appeal also revisited the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the two financial institutions during Nigeria’s military era.
Ajayi was described by the Group as a businessman, pro-democracy advocate and publisher of The Republic newspaper, who openly supported the late Chief Moshood Abiola’s Hope ’93 presidential campaign.
FTC Group alleged that the military administrations of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha repeatedly proscribed Ajayi’s publications and targeted his business interests.
It claimed that these developments culminated in the revocation of Financial Merchant Bank’s operating licence in January 1994 and that of Republic Bank in June 1995.
The Group further alleged that the licences were revoked despite proposals to rescue or acquire the affected institutions, arguing that the circumstances surrounding their closure and the subsequent management of their assets should be reviewed.
The allegations and claims in the statement could not be independently established from the material provided. The NDIC’s response to the latest appeal was also not included.
