From Richard Akintade, Osogbo
Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to conduct a ‘fit and proper’ test on CitiTrust Holdings PLC, which is one of the major stakeholders in the state-owned financial institution, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank PLC.
The governor noted that the review should be carried out in line with regulatory requirements, necessary to safeguard the interest of the state.
CitiTrust currently holds 41 percent, but controls the management as a result of the 2019 deal of the previous administration, when the latter cashed out, after collecting about N1.6 billion, which was paid into OSICOL. Rather than increase the share capital of the bank, it was simply sale of existing shares. Osun State currently holds 40 percent of the bank’s shares.
Governor Adeleke in a letter dated March 17 and addressed to the governor of the CBN, Mr Olayemi Cardoso, drew the attention of the apex bank to the assault on the corporate governance structure, policies and internal affairs of LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, pointing out that the inclusion of CitiTrust Holdings on the list of 58 entities considered as ponzi scheme by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, seriously questions the ethical, integrity and legal standing of the entity.
The governor observed bias against the state government’s interest in LivingTrust Mortgage Bank by some officials of the CBN and called on Cardoso to intervene in order to restore a good corporate governance structure that will deliver efficient, independent executive management and functional board of directors that will drive the bank’s progress.
“Meanwhile, CitiTrust Holding Plc has been declared as one of the 58 ponzi schemes by the EFCC, with their names and schemes published on its official website.
“There are allegations that the proceeds of the scheme must have been used to buy Osun shares in 2019, which will possibly expose Livingtrust Bank. Hence, there is the need for unbiased recertification of CitiTrust’s ownership and management of Livingtrust shares and to determine, if the entity, called CitiTrust is fit and proper in line with various regulatory requirements.” It is believed that some staff of the defunct core capital, a subsidiary of CitiTrust have found their way into Livingtrust management,” the governor said.
He urged the CBN governor to show more interest in LivingTrust Mortgage Bank PLC due to CitiTrust Holdings challenges, warning that the financial institution is potentially at risk, from prolonged legal charges on its funds due to law suits linked to CitiTrust Holdings and the subsidiaries’ businesses that have nothing to do with Livingtrust Bank.
