Banking titans Jim Ovia and Tony Elumelu, who have dominated the sector in recent years, are among those who must step down on or before July 31 this year, under new guidelines by the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) limiting the tenure of bank chieftains to 10 years.
Mr. Ovia has been the managing director/chief executive of Zenith Bank Plc from its inception in May 1990, while Mr. Elumelu, who served as the managing director of the defunct Standard Trust Bank (STB) in 1995, emerged as the group managing director/chief executive of United Bank for Africa (UBA) in 2004, following the merger of the two banks.
Akinsola Akinfemiwa, the managing director/chief executive of Skye Bank Plc, will also be affected by this guideline, as he assumed position in 2000.
The new guidelines announced yesterday (Tuesday) at the end of the Bankers Committee's meeting in Abuja, are in line with the ongoing banking reform initiated by Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Central Bank governor, to enthrone good governance in the nation's financial system.
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News source: 234next.com
Seriously I don’t know what Sanusi is up to. Should CBN be deciding the tenure of bank MDs? Is this done anywhere in the world? Not that I have anything against it - my father is not a bank MD :-), I'm just wondering if CBN isn't taking things too far...
Yes it is part of corporate governance and should be adopted by all companies quoted on the stock exchange. These guys run the bank like it is their personal business with zero accountability.
ReplyDeleteCheck USA Sarbanes-oxley act & Uk combined code of governance.
Sanusi is on the right part especially Tony Elumelu of UBA. He should be probed like the other CEOs. UBA's account system is porous and people are defrauded daily. Nothing is done about it. They should leave and give other people the opportunity to move these banks forward. The position is not a birthright.
ReplyDeleteSanusi is just a guy wit 2 much info. lol. bad guy! personal or not, who knows? dat's d thing wit ds guy.. he just always seems 2 b ahead of dem MD's. when we check "thoroughly" nau, we'll c dat he has done nothing illegal! Is he biting more than he can chew....wellll i don't think so. i've listened 2 dat guy speak b4 n me thinks he's def brilliant. take it or leave it. sorry 2 dem MD's sha, e no easy make person come from nowhere come put sand sand for ur garri
ReplyDeleteFair enough, Corporate governance initiated by the combined code advises the rotation of directors but also states that the shareholders really should in most cases be the ones re-electing so not a "1 man activity".
ReplyDeleteI am not aware of UBA or Zenith's financial performance but if there hasnt been any speculative reason to re-elect, why force them out....
Naija people and their rules....
Is there really any difference between Ribadu and Sanusi?
ReplyDelete@B: Most of these shareholders and Board of Directors are also part of their game and will not say the truth. Sanusi should go on with the policies.
ReplyDeleteLike Oriaku, there are some basic laws and regulations concerning corporate governance that have been ignored in Nigeria financial institutions because we do not have a sustainable democracy government and consistency is not in our dictionary.
ReplyDeleteWe do not have gatekeepers in the system. The shareholders have slept over the rights and obligations to monitor these bank executive and directors. The shareholders have to ensure that they demand verifiable accountability reports and full disclosures from CEOs.
The folks at the helm of affairs of these various regulatory agencies are not after the interest of the shareholders and the stakeholders.
I think what Sanusi is doing is the appropriate provided that his motives and intentions were not based on personality issues or politically motivated.
I wish Sanusi and the banks CEOs all the best in the career.