The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has called for closer collaboration with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to strengthen Nigeria’s financial system and improve asset recovery efforts.
The call was made on Friday during a courtesy visit by the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the NDIC, Mr Thompson Oludare Sunday, who led members of the corporation’s management team to the EFCC headquarters, where they met with the Commission’s Executive Chairman, Mr Ola Olukoyede.
Speaking during the visit, Sunday said the engagement provided an opportunity to formally deepen cooperation between the two institutions. According to him, the NDIC is seeking to expand institutional synergy with the EFCC in line with its statutory mandate.
“We aim to further strengthen our collaboration, deepen institutional synergy and explore additional avenues for mutual support in the pursuit of national financial system stability,” Sunday said. “The EFCC has been our partner, and we want this to continue. We look forward to an expanded and more impactful partnership between our two esteemed institutions.”
He further explained that the NDIC intends to leverage the EFCC’s technical expertise in asset tracing, recovery and management, particularly in cases involving debtors of banks in liquidation.
“Your experience has and will continue to greatly enhance our recovery efforts,” he noted. “Additionally, we have the strategic responsibility of prosecuting individuals whose actions contribute to the failure of banks. We therefore seek closer collaboration with the Commission in this critical area.”
In his response, EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede acknowledged the long-standing relationship between both agencies and pledged to further strengthen their cooperation. He described the NDIC and EFCC as “inseparable twins” that have worked closely together over the years.
Olukoyede recalled that while the EFCC has supported the NDIC in investigations, the NDIC has also assisted the Commission through capacity-building and training initiatives.
“There has been this mutually beneficial relationship between NDIC and EFCC, and we never intend to stop. We’ll continue to take it to a higher level and continue to strengthen it,” he said.
Speaking on the future direction of the partnership, Olukoyede said the EFCC’s policy focus includes using the anti-corruption fight to stimulate economic growth, strengthen productive institutions and enhance the capacity of government agencies through targeted interventions.
“One of the things I promised when I resumed was to use the instrumentality of this work to stimulate the economy, not just to make noise all over the place,” he said. “We want to strengthen and encourage the internal processes of entities that are doing well and design fraud risk assessments for them.”
He added that the Commission’s proactive approach led to the creation of a new department on Fraud Risk Assessment and Control, aimed at preventing financial crimes before they occur.
“We don’t have to always wait for money to be stolen,” Olukoyede said. “Let us work with you and stakeholders in the economy to fine-tune our systems and ensure we clean up our financial ecosystem. You’re a key player in that area, and we are always willing to collaborate with you.”
The visit underscores ongoing efforts by both agencies to deepen inter-agency cooperation in tackling financial crimes and safeguarding Nigeria’s banking and financial sector.
