Address by the Managing Director/chief Executive of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, FCIB, mni, on the Occasion of the NDIC Special Day at the 37th Kaduna International Trade Fair on Thursday, March 3rd 2016

Protocols

It is with great pleasure and sense of pride to be in your midst today to participate in the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) Special Day in particular and at the on-going 37th Kaduna International Trade Fair 2016 in general. First and foremost, I wish to welcome our state government officials, eminent royal fathers, members of the academia, mass media, civil societies and the private business sector, other distinguished personalities, ladies and gentlemen, who have found time to join us at this special occasion.
I also wish to congratulate the President and the entire Executive Members of the Kaduna State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA) for organising this year’s trade fair despite the daunting economic challenges in the country. The objectives of this year’s trade fair is succinctly captured within its theme: “Promoting Solid Minerals Sector for Sustainable Economic Development of Nigeria” which focuses on the importance of diversification from the oil sector and the need to harness the nation’s economic potentials for accelerating growth and economic development. This has demonstrated the commitment by the chamber in opening up new economic opportunities and partnerships to boost business activities in the country with a view to making positive economic impact in the lives of Nigerians.
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, your royal highnesses, you might recall that the Corporation had since 2008 participated at the Kaduna trade fair as part of public awareness initiatives to showcase its landmark achievements on its mandate and operational activities to all its diverse stakeholders as a way to promote public confidence in the banking system in the country.
With the introduction of Non-interest banking practice, the Corporation extended deposit insurance cover to the customers of non-interest banking institutions by developing guidelines for the extension of the DIS coverage to Non-interest banking (NIBIs) up to N500, 000.00 per depositor. A non-interest Bank is a financial institution that provides fund management, financing, investment and other banking services that are sharia compliant.
Also, following the introduction of Mobile Payment Service, the Corporation extended deposit insurance cover to the subscribers of the mobile money operators by creating the Pass-Through Deposit Insurance Scheme (PTDIS) up to the maximum limit of N500, 000.00 per depositor. The Mobile Payment System (MPS) refers to payment services operated under financial regulation and performed from or via a mobile device. It is a convenient, secure and affordable way to send money and pay for goods and services using mobile phones. Mobile phones are an attractive way to promote financial inclusion given their extensive presence in the population and their global reach. Mobile phones can serve as a virtual bank card, point of sale terminal (POS), Automated Teller Machine (ATM), or internet banking terminal. The objectives of Pass-Through Deposit Insurance include the following:

To guarantee the payment of funds to subscribers of MMOs in the event of failure of DMBs where MMOs maintain Pool accounts
To enhance confidence and ensure continuous sustenance of MPS
To protect and ensure the safety and stability of MPS
To promote financial inclusion
All these strategic initiatives were implemented in order to further engender public confidence in the banking system and to promote financial system stability.
The Corporation continues to partner with all stakeholders to propagate the objectives of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) to reduce the percentage of adult Nigerians that do not have access to financial services from 46.3% in 2010 to 20.0% by 2020.
To this end, the Corporation has contributed to financial education by publishing various pamphlets which include “Basic Knowledge on Banking and deposit Insurance”, and “This Little Piggy” among others in order to inculcate banking habits and financial management among the youths. Some of these publications were translated into 3 major Nigerian languages. The Corporation also partnered with National Universities Commission (NUC) and Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria to introduce DIS syllabus in six (6) universities as a pilot scheme.
Similarly, the Corporation embarked on the nationwide Sensitization Seminar on NDIC mandate and financial literacy for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Members. To date, over 27, 000 National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Members across 17 states of the country have been educated on the roles of NDIC in the banking system.
Over the years, the Corporation had also continued to intensify its depositor protection awareness campaign not only to address the challenges associated with unclaimed depositors’ funds in closed banks but also to raise the level of consumer education through TV and radio jingles and talk shows as well as partnership with civil society organizations.
Before concluding this address, I wish to remind you the activities of illegal funds managers otherwise known as ‘Wonder Banks’. I would like to use this medium to appeal to members of the public to stop patronizing these ‘wonder banks’ which offer mouthwatering interests rates to dupe unsuspecting members of the public off their hard earned incomes in the name of investments. For the avoidance of doubt, these ‘wonder banks’ or illegal funds managers that are neither licensed by either the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nor are they under the NDIC deposit insurance scheme.

I also wish to express concern on the recent trend of some cooperative societies which are being used by unscrupulous elements to engage in illegal collection of deposits thereby defrauding unsuspecting members of the public of their hard earned income. To this end, I wish to call on Federal and State Governments to impose stringent punishment against such unscrupulous cooperative societies.
Members of the public should patronize only banks that display the NDIC Stickers: Insured by NDIC in their banking halls or entrances. Members of the public, especially those in semi urban and rural areas are advised to continue to avail themselves of the services rendered by Micro Finance Banks licensed by the CBN and duly insured by the NDIC. There are 958 MFB’s in the country as at 31st December, 2015. These 958 MFB’s have a total deposit liability of N159.45 billion and have granted micro credit facilities amounting to N192.99 billion to their customers as at 31st December, 2015.
The Corporation has established a robust 24-hour Help Desk with a Toll Free telephone line number 080063424357 for public enquiries on depositors’ claims settlement and serious depositors and other stakeholders’ complaints on sharp practices by their banks.
The Corporation can also be reached through its website which is fully integrated with major social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn to make it more robust and user friendly. The NDIC website www.ndic.gov.ng is specially designed to ensure that visitors have easy access to information about the Corporation.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the distinguished guests, members of the public and members of the press who have found time to honour our invitation. I pray for Almighty God’s guidance, protection and journey mercies to your respective destinations.
I thank you for your attention.