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Questions are being asked over the recent acquisition of one of Nigeria’s oldest financial institutions, Union Bank, by the fledgling Titan Trust Bank. The questions, articulated by a concerned former Union Bank staffer, is contained in a write-up entitled ‘Titan Trust bank acquisition of Union Bank’.
Below are the powers as contained in a viral post:
FGN injected N300b to stabilize/recapitalize Union Bank. Federal ministry of finance and CBN can confirm this position.
A further N239b was deployed into the bank by Amcon to buy off toxic assets on the bank's books
How then did FGN end up with 21% of the bank while Union Global Partners (foreign investment vehicle) walked away with 64% stake when it only invested N78b ($500m @ N155/$ in 2011?
The Bank has now been sold for a fraction of the sunk amount.
Is NASS aware of these issues?
Tunde Lemo was a deputy governor of CBN during the transaction period. By corporate governance provision, is he allowed to be associated with acquisition of this same intervened Bank as a beneficiary?
Union bank was a group comprising of seven companies in 2011 but now reduced to one commercial entity without recourse to FGN
What happened to all the subsisidiaries and/or other assets?
Who acquired what assert and under what terms/ approvals?
Faruk Gumel is the current Chairman of NSIA, a state establishment and at the same time a Group Executive Director with TGI, the major shareholder in Titan Bank the new owners in union Bank Does this transaction qualify at arm’s length as defined by Nigeria corporate governance provision?
Perhaps the President and Commander in Chief as well as leadership of NASS should ask these questions and more. CBN, Amcon, Federal ministry of finance, and erstwhile Managing direction of Union bank Mr Emeka Emuwashould provide the answers.