Just few days ago the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) awarded the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC) as the “Best Contributing Employer in Human Resources Development” for the 2022 Service Year which based on the evidence shown in ensuring operational stability among the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
The award was presented to the Corporation by the Director General, ITF, Sir Joseph N. Ari, who was represented by the Abuja Area Manager and Deputy Director, Mrs Hauwa Mohammed. The ITF Boss disclosed that NDIC was the best agency that complied with the ITF Act through consistent periodic remittance of the statutory one percent of its total staff cost as stipulated by the Fund’s Act.
The DG appreciated the Corporation for its commitment and patronage of the ITF Training Centre describing the NDIC’s partnership over the years as worthy of emulation by other government agencies.
This significant award bestowed on the corporation has proven that the NDIC under the stewardship of Mr. Bello Hassan has a vital role in the transformation of the banking system in ensuring that the masses have confidence in their deposits with the commercial banks. For instance, the corporation had paid 100 per cent of depositors funds of 49 failed banks in the country as their mandate has to do with banking supervision by providing guarantee for the deposit to a particular limit in the event of bank failure, failure resolution and banks liquidation. Over the years, NDIC has successfully implemented a lot of failure resolutions in the interest of the depositors primarily to ensure continuity in the banking system. It has intervened several times through a breach failure resolution option in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to clear the depositors funds.
Another limestone achievement of 2022 was that the Corporation recovered depositors’ N8.3billion from their banks and resolved 248 complaints between January to November, 2022. The complaints bordered on unauthorised withdrawals, which accounted for the highest number of 190 cases; POS issues which accounted for 33; charges/fees/fraud issues and others which accounted for 25.
While all NDIC complaint platforms are active and effective, we have observed that over 95, representing 38.3 per cent of total complaints came through NDIC zonal offices, 24 per cent through the Toll-Free Help Desk and 37.7 per cent through other platforms.
Beyond these iconic achievements, other Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies must wake up from their slumber to live above board in the execution of their core mandates. With the effective supervisory roles the NDIC in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have been able to place these banks in the right tracks with their annual report intact. Leadership transparency must be inculcated like the NDIC style in manning the affairs of the Organization.
Other important elements are political leadership needed because if any, of the innovations are purely technocratic exercise, leaders need to find ways to collaborate with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to overcome inherent opposition. Institutional capacity building of existing bodies is a common element across many of the 15 cases. For reforms to endure, one ultimately needs to create sustainable institutions. Transparency can also be a powerful driver for changing incentives. Technology, while not a panacea, is present in two-thirds of the featured cases. The reformer applied relevant, even basic, IT tools and know-how to their specific functional requirements and did not over-design their efforts. Furthermore, the technology application is rarely a stand-alone solution; rather, it is accompanied by policies and procedures to change behavior. When these elements are carried out effectively, MDAs will experience a robust competition and quality delivery of services to the citizens.