CBN Initiates Overhaul, Dismisses Boards of Union, Titan, Keystone, Polaris Banks

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the immediate removal of the entire Board of Directors of four prominent banks: Polaris, Titan, Union, and Keystone.

The decision, reached during a meeting led by CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso on Wednesday in Abuja, is expected to have significant implications for the country’s financial sector.

Sources within the CBN, speaking on condition of anonymity, have revealed that an official statement officially dissolving the boards will be released shortly. The source hinted, “In the next hour, there is going to be official communication from the bank. We are working on it, and an official statement will be sent soon.”

This move follows a series of events initiated by a Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, appointed by President Bola Tinubu in July 2023, to probe the activities of the CBN and other relevant establishments.

The investigative report accused the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, of allegedly acquiring banks for himself through proxies. Specifically, it claimed that Emefiele utilized proxies to acquire Union Bank of Nigeria for Titan Trust Bank Limited and Keystone Bank without any evidence of payment.

As a consequence, the report recommended that the Federal Government should reverse the sale of the banks and take over their operations.