Buhari signed doctored NDIC bill without reading, top official says

A senior Nigerian official has accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of signing a bill without reading, saying a key insurance legislation passed by the National Assembly had been doctored before it got to the president’s desk.

– Key points to note

Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, who is chairman of the board of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), said in a video that Mr Buhari was manipulated to approve the new NDIC law days before he left office.

He said the signed document took away the president’s power to appoint the managing director of the corporation’s board, and handed that power to the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

He accused the suspended governor of the central bank, Godwin Emefiele, of being behind the deceit, and asked President Bola Tinubu to probe the passage of the Act.

Mr Emefiele was detained by the State Security Service over the weekend for “investigative reasons” and could not be reached on Tuesday.

– Doctored bill

The NDIC bill, signed on May 26, repeals the NDIC Act 2006.

“This document that was signed is materially different from the vote and proceedings of the National Assembly that passed it,” Mr Abdullateef said, displaying two documents in the Facebook video.

According to him, under the new law, NDIC has been stripped of its independence as it now has to seek the approval of the CBN before discharging key functions. Also, the NDIC can no longer monitor and supervise banks.

He urged President Bola Tinubu to “probe why what is passed is fundamentally different from what was assented to.”

“Probe what happened between the time the Senate passed it and (when) the House of Representatives passed it and there was no divergence,” he said.

– Depositors not protected

A former Lagos state commissioner for home affairs, Mr Abdullateef was appointed to the position alongside six other board members on January 9. Their appointments were confirmed by the Senate on May 9.

According to Mr Abdullateef, under the bill signed by Mr Buhari, only the permanent secretary in the finance ministry can head the NDIC board, making Mr Abdullateef unfit for the role.

“Former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Act without reading it. No reasonable person, who does not want fire to burn him inside the grave will sign this Act,” Mr Abdullateef said.

“They deliberately made it 48 hours before he left, because they knew that a president that is handing over has a lot to do. They knew that he had said that ‘I cannot wait to leave,’ so they took this bulky document to him to sign.”

He also claimed the core mandate of the commission to protect depositors has been eroded by the strange insertions in the new Act.

“With this new Act, NDIC will no longer be able to protect depositors. NDIC was established as independent so that it would not be disturbed by the CBN. But now, they have introduced 35 new sections under which the NDIC will need to seek the approval of the CBN before it can discharge its duties.

“Now, even to go to banks to check their books, they said the CBN must approve. So, you have taken away the independence of the NDIC. Even to pay depositors, the new Act says the NDIC must get the CBN’s approval.

“Also, NDIC should always visit the banks and look into their books, and ensure that the way they are operating these banks does not endanger depositors.”

Pluboard could not reach Uba Sani, who was chairman of the Senate committee of banking, insurance and other financial institutions. We could not also reach his deputy, Orji Uzor Kalu.