There is an urgent need for the judiciary to help the Nigerian democracy and economy. It must begin to say “No” to bad elements in society that hide under it to perpetrate fraud. If you are in doubt of the harm this does to the economy, ask NDIC. While many state governors are lamenting, “No money”, quality people-oriented governance is going on in a few other states.

The judiciary must help NDIC

The Nigerian judiciary has been accused of shielding people with bad behaviours. The media is awash with stories of politicians who run to court to restrain anybody from arresting them after they had stolen their states dry as governors. These characters also secure perpetual injunctions that make it impossible for them to be prosecuted for wrongdoing.

Yet, some others ensure that their cases continue to be adjourned until they wear out those who are prosecuting them. We have many of them among the political class. There are also some business tycoons who go to banks to borrow huge sums of money to do their business.

Although they make a lot of money, they do not deem it necessary to repay what they borrowed. There are also many politically exposed persons (PEPs) who run to the banks to borrow money to prosecute politics-related ventures, such as sponsoring elections, and when they fail to win such elections, they see no need of repaying the loan. These classes of defaults have put a number of banks in jeopardy.

Unfortunately, too, when their actions lead to the failure of the bank, they run to the court for frivolous injunctions and unending adjournments. These bad behaviours give the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) a lot of concern, as they constitute a serious impediment to expeditiously settling depositors, creditors and other stakeholders in the event of bank failure.

The money these individuals took away from the bank, if it was returned as and when due, the bank could not have failed in the first place, or even if the borrowers had cooperated with the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) by returning the money without recourse to hiding behind the court, the delays in payment to depositors and other stakeholders would not have arisen.

In a recent conversation with Bello Hassan, managing director and chief executive of NDIC, he deplored the attitude of wealthy Nigerians who borrow money from the bank and refuse to pay back. He reminded such defaulters that a bank loan is never a “national cake”, as the money belongs to depositors and creditors.

“You borrowed from a bank; you have the means to repay, but you don’t want to pay. If today all the borrowers pay what they owe, in the case of Heritage Bank, I tell you, by tomorrow, I am going to pay all the depositors and all the creditors. It is a big challenge. Closely associated with that, instead of them paying all they owe, they run to court to restrain us from taking any action. Even though we have a good understanding with the judiciary, we do sensitisation with them to say any time our cases come before you, what we need is accelerated hearing; we don’t need anything more than that. We have more than enough evidence to prove our case.

“Still around liquidation, we also have cases where borrowers, customers, or shareholders run to courts to get injunctions to restrain us from taking action or carrying out certain functions. These are distractions to us. We have to go to court to explain that it is wrong to levy execution on the assets of NDIC instead of execution on the assets of a failed bank.”

‘Life has returned in Abia’

There are people who make a lot of noise about performance in the office, but on the ground, there is nothing to justify the high level of noise. The South East geo-political zone has always been seen as an enclave where bad politicians serve themselves and not their people. Since 1999, only a handful of state governors have been adjudged to have been intentional in the business of governance. There was even a time when a state governor of Abia State claimed that he was subsidising the state with his own money (you can’t believe this). In Abia State currently, it would seem that something good is happening there. Those who are far away, and cannot see it, are perceiving the aroma. Yours Sincerely was in the city of Aba between May 9 and 11, 2025, and had the privilege of moving round, from Brass Junction up to the iconic Port Harcourt Road that was commissioned a few days ago. My tour guide said, “If anybody had told any Aba resident that by now, the city would be transformed to what it is now, in two years, such a resident would have doubted it so much.”

Aba, the Enyimba City, was an abandoned place. Those who had shops and businesses fled as a perpetual flood took over the entire stretch of Aba-Owerri-Port Harcourt Road. Mountains of refuse were everywhere,, and stench was oozing out from everywhere. It was a place of disorder. But the shocking thing was that the Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) allocations were being released and collected on a monthly basis, yet they were not used to work for the people. Allegations were rife that they were shared by the political cabal that called the shots in those dispensations.

Today, Aba is a liveable city. The city has come alive. Businesses that fled are gradually coming back; real estate businessmen, and women are smiling broadly, and house owners (landlords and landladies) are singing the praise of Governor Alex Otti for his intentionality in his “Nehemiah mission” in Abia.

My tour guide said to me, “It is not only in Aba that you will see the Otti magic. It cuts across every part of the state. If you go to Umuahia, Arochukwu, Umu-Nneochi, the Ukwa axis, or the Isiala Ngwa side where he lives, everywhere is wearing new looks. What else do the people need from their leader?

“Remember that shortly after he arrived, he was troubled by the level of abductions and killings in the Lokpanta area. He shut down the cow market where they discovered over 70 decomposing bodies; he ordered the entire market fence to be shut down and that it should no longer be a night market. The area is calm today.”

In a recent interview with BusinessDay in Owerri, an investor and former chairman of the Manufacturer’s Association of Nigeria (MAN) Imo/Abia branch, Rommy Nwabueze Anyanwu, said, “As I am talking to you now, Abia State is more conducive, and you will see or hear about the number of people and investors returning to Abia. If you come to Aba in particular, you will not believe what you will see. House rent here used to be ?10,000 for a two-bedroom flat. And some people, before last year, were paying less than N10,000 a month for a two-bedroom flat. But now, Aba’s house rent has increased so much, and that is because of the market forces of demand and supply. Aba is renting a flat for as high as N120,000 per month. I am telling you the gospel truth. These are the things that you didn’t hear in Aba before.”

John Udeagbala, former national president of the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), said, “We’re saying thank you, your Excellency. Your projects in Aba are many, but Port Harcourt Road is dear to us. All those who left Aba are all returning. We’re saying that silent gratitude is of no use, so we need to be open in our gratitude.”

‘No audio project in Enugu’

Many people have described Governor Peter Mbah as a disruptive leader in haste. The array of projects executed, commissioned and ongoing, easily make him one of the best in the class of first-term governors. In every part of the state, there are projects to benefit the people. A tour of some parts of the state on May 13, 2025, revealed the disruptive nature of governance in terms of project execution and delivery.

From the Enugu International Conference Centre, to the International Hotel, to the refurbished Presidential Hotel, to the 300-bed International Hospital and the transport hub, all located on the Independence Layout, Mbah has shown that he is not just a governor for the sake of it. While conducting Yours Sincerely round some of the projects, Joshua Ejeh, special adviser to the governor on research and publication, said, “Sir, you can see for yourself that there is no audio project here; what we have are verifiable projects.”

There are smart green schools in 260 wards of the state; there are Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres in 260 wards, and there are 260 farm estates already on the ground. Construction work is ongoing at the Enugu Smart City. The water project is still on. A visit to the water gas plant at 9th Mile Corner showed the evidence. While new pipes are being laid, the asbestos pipes are being replaced with more durable ductile iron pipes. There are numerous road projects consisting of major and arterial roads.

Right inside the Government House is the iconic Command and Control security facility that helps the state government to understand what goes on in the state on a daily basis, security-wise, and to combat crimes.

Ejeh said that the state government was simultaneously addressing the felt needs of all the 10 zones in Enugu: Abakpa, Trans Ekulu, Emene, New Heaven, GRA, Independence Layout, Coal Camp, Uwani, and Agbani zones.

Patrick Nwabueze Ubru, commissioner for agriculture and agro-industrialisation, said that the government discharges its duties without fear or favour. According to him, “When we came in, there was nothing like a database; so, at the instance of His Excellency, we opened a registration desk and began to register all the farmers in Enugu State. So, we have 67,000 farmers already registered with their names, phone numbers, their gender, age, up to getting the geo-coordinates of their farms, their NIN, etc. From the data, they get everything that the state wants to give out to them.

The farmers do not need to know the governor, commissioner or anybody to get inputs. What they need to do is just to come and register as farmers; we call them to come and take whatever they want that the governor is giving to them to support what they are doing.” (BusinessDay)