CBN, NDIC Take Over NEFRFUND

The federal government has approved the takeover of the management and control of the National Economic Reconstruction Fund by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).

Mr. Daniel Kifasi, permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance, who disclosed this in a statement made available to our correspondent in Abuja on Sunday, said the ministry had also appointed a new management from the two organisations for the Fund.

The new management team is headed by Mr. Muhammad Kollere of the NDIC as managing director and Mr. Ihua Elenwor of the CBN as executive director (Operations).

A joint special examination team of the CBN and NDIC that examined the books and affairs of the Fund had in its report recommended the takeover by the two regulatory agencies.

According to the report, the capital invested in the institution by the Ministry of Finance had been completely eroded with gross losses, which stood at N5.7bn.

The Fund, the report added, had not been able to service loans taken for on-lending from the African Development Bank, the Ministry of Finance and other sources.

The new team would oversee the affairs of the institution for an initial period of one year, it stated.

The team is mandated to, among other things, embark on an aggressive recovery of all outstanding loans, overhaul the Fund’s records, reconcile all accounts with correspondent banks and render quarterly reports to the board of the Fund, headed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance.

NERFUND is an intervention fund established by Decree No. 2 of 1989 to ensure the speedy rise of micro enterprises in the country through the provision of medium and long term loans.