A coalition of shareholders’ associations in the country, numbering 25, have expressed their willingness to endorse the recapitalisation processes of all the rescued banks and their merger and acquisition deals in their respective banks’ soon-to-be-conducted Extraordinary General Meeting (EGMs).

The group which addressed a media conference on the imperative of the banking reforms and the Central Bank of Nigeria’s CBN rescued banks’ recapitalisation process in Lagos, said their support is hinged on the need to save the banks from been nationalized. Coordinator of the Coalition, Mr. Olufemi Timothy, said that the forthcoming EGMs of the five rescued banks, provides opportunity for shareholders and stakeholders of the banks to recoup their investment.

Timothy said: “Over the years, there has been a clearly, well orchestrated campaign to impugn the good character and integrity of the majority of Nigerian shareholders, thus we were labelled as enemy of progress and development, antagonist of the banking reform and a clog in the wheel of progress of the nation’s development.

“This was because of the uncooperative attitude of a few selfish individuals among us.  Specifically, we the representatives of various associations under the umbrella of this coalition want to make a special appeal to both the Federal Government, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other regulators, not to nationalise our banks again.

“We do not want these banks to be liquidated or nationalised. We do not want to lose our investments in the remaining banks.

Concerned stakeholders
“Hence forth, we have decided to tell the Federal Governmnt, CBN, regulators in the capital market, and genuine concerned stakeholders that we are solidly in support of all the Transaction Implementation Agreements (TIA) signed by the five recued banks, including Equitorial Trust Bank Limited, which is not listed.”

On her part, President of the Pragmatic Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mrs. Bisi Bakare, pointed out that capitalisation is a vital component of reforms in the industry. According to her, the objective of the ongoing recapitalisation exercise is to strengthen the intermediation role of banks as well as to ensure that they are able to perform their developmental roles effectively.

“We all know that shareholders are always at the end point in liquidation of companies and as a result of this, we should embrace all measures that will be taken to protect our mutual interest. We must all remember that we are risk takers,” she added.

Similarly, President, Association  for the Advancement of the Rights of Nigeria Shareholders (AARNS) who was also the Chairman of the event, Dr. Faruk Umar, specifically said that the proposed Access Bank Plc’s investment in Intercontinental Bank Plc, will be highly beneficial to shareholders.

He explained: “With the way Access Bank has been well managed by a highly skilled board and management, we are confident that the future will be very bright for us.  Also, because we are shareholders of First City Monument Bank Plc, the bank’s investment in FinBank Plc will certainly benefit us.

“Looking at Union Bank, the investors are experienced and highly professional and are bringing a lot of money and expertise to run the bank. The coming of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated into Oceanic is also commendable given their wide spread over many African countries. Shareholders must also realise that the failure to support the investment will leave NDIC with two options  namely: outright liquidation or bridging.”

The co-founder, Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association, Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo,  also appealed to all shareholders to “reason with  the voice of wisdom on the recapitalisation  and co-operate with this last stage of the banking reform; in order to save our investment in the banks and secure millions of jobs for our people.“