By Ebun Sessou
Chike Okere, a trader at Daleko market, banks with Afribank now Mainstream Bank. She wanted to withdraw money in her account through an Automated Teller Machine, ATM, to settle her debt when she realised but could not get any money from the machine.

She didn’t know what was wrong until she heard that her bank was one of the three banks taken over by the government.

All her efforts to use the ATM was futile and so she couldn’t pay up her debt that day. On Monday, she rushed to her bank to know what was wrong with her account, only to find out that her bank had indeed been taken over.

Then, Chike requested to use her withdrawal cheque to withdraw her money and probably close down her account. Not even her bank officials could convince her to stop her action. When Saturday Vanguard encountered her, she said, “When I heard about the problem and what my bank was into, I was a bit nervous. So there was nothing to be done than to withdraw my money so that tomorrow, they will not tell me another problem has happened to my account.”

A shareholder with Bank PHB, now Keystone Bank, lamented that the action is only to destroy the hope of Nigerians. “I’m not happy with the CBN governor. I believe it is a way of taking over these banks to introduce and implement his so called Islamic banking. At least, those banks are not from the North.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, CBN Gov and Arunma Oteh, DG SEC

This is a simple conspiracy to hijack these banks for his Islamic banking. Even if the banks did not meet up their banking requirements there is always a sanction option for such offences. In any case, the banks in that situation are always given considerable period to meet up or merge them. The action is highly political and Sanusi and his cabinet have succeeded in manipulating everybody, especially the Federal government.”

Shareholders’ representatives who spoke with Saturday Vanguard said it was not right for banks to be taken over without appropriate information given to the shareholders as well as the depositors.

“The judgement was belated and bound to create confusion for the affected institutions and shareholders, especially with the intervention of the CBN through the appointment of new managements for the banks.”

They noted that investors had no place under the new dispensation because of the huge exposure of the banks, which had eroded the banks shareholders‘ funds and threatened their future.

The president of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, ISAN, Sir Sunny Nwosu, expressed dissatisfaction with the take over, saying that every shareholder is afraid of what the future holds. According to him, “We don’t support Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from the onset. So what he has done is only to compound the problem of the masses.” He called on President Goodluck Jonathan to declare an emergency in the nation’s banking industry to avert global concerns on Nigeria’s economic and financial status.

According to him, the revocation of the operating licensces of three commercial banks, namely Afribank Plc, Bank PHB Plc and Spring Bank Plc remains a calculated subversion of the nation’s economy and the great people of Nigeria. ISAN strongly feels that the revocation of banking licences remains an open gridlock that in the medium term erodes the transformation agenda of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, and that the recapitalization through bridge banks by CBN remains an attestation of failure or inept leadership by the current management of the apex bank toward finding a permanent answer to the nation’s induced banking problems.

According to him, revocation of the operating licences of the banks will further deepen the crisis of confidence in the domestic financial sector, particularly the banking and the capital market.

Meanwhile, The President of the Nigerian Shareholders Solidarity Association, Chief Timothy Adesiyan, said, “ the action has only bring out conflict in the nation.

The Chairman of the Ibadan Zone Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Chief Aderemi Oyepeju said, ”The implication is that the organisations will be disorganised now. It will send a signal of disorganisation to the two institutions, and only God can rekindle the hope of shareholders. The new management should call the organised shareholders and stakeholders and ask for the way forward. In the alternative, they should arrange with other banks to take over their operations.”

However, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company, Mr. Bismark Rewane, said the reversal of the deal was a blow to the parties, especially Bank PHB shareholders that bought Spring Bank shares at a premium.

He said, ”This judgement and unwinding of the transaction will have serious implications for the survival of one of both banks. There were huge costs in putting the deal together. Bank PHB has spent a lot of money in integrating the banks and the chances are that government will now have to bear some of these costs.”