By Peter Egwuatu

The Chairman of Skye Bank Plc, Mr. M.K. Ahmad, has clarified that the reconstitution of the board of the bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was not a takeover of the bank but an intervention to  correct observed corporate governance issues under the old board. Ahmed made the clarification on Friday, while addressing capital market community on the floor of Lagos floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange, NSE where the new board of the bank  visited the exchange to provide information on recent developments in the bank. While explaining that the ownership of the bank remains in the hands of the shareholders, he said the  CBN does not own the bank and has not taken over the bank.

The Skye Bank chairman disclosed that the apex was fully behind the bank and would support it to fully stabilise Ahmad, a former Director General of the National Pension Commission, further re-assured the bank’s customers and investors that the bank was not distressed but only had corporate governance issues under the old board. He said the bank’s fundamentals remain strong and that it remains one of Nigeria’s leading and retail banks.

In his remarks on the occasion, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Tokunbo Abiru, said the management team and the board would work to achieve value enhancement for shareholders, customers and other stakeholders by bringing the cost-income ratio to acceptable levels, improve the risk assets quality and work towards increasing the liquidity and capital adequacy of the bank.

Abiru described the reconstitution of the bank’s board as an intervention and not a takeover by the CBN, saying the bank’s fundamentals are good and strong. The CBN had on Monday approved the reconstitution of the Board of Skye Bank Plc  with the apex bank appointing Mr M.K. Ahmad and Mr. Tokunbo Abiru as the new Chairman and Managing Director   of the bank respectively. Other members of the reconstituted Board are Bayo Sanni, Idris Yakubu, Markie Idowu and Abimbola Izu, all of whom were serving in the Executive Director capacity of the Bank prior to now.

Meanwhile, in his remark at the floor of the NSE, the Doyen of stockbrokers, Alhaji Rasheed Yusuff  said “ We appreciate your visit to the market and we would like to collaborate with you to lift up the bank. As at today there over 150 million shares of Skye Bank in our machines and there are no buyers, investors are only offering the shares and there are no bids. So, the bank should enhance its enlightenment to ensure confidence is retained.”