Buhari approves, signs Banks, Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 into law

President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, November 13, signed the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020 into law.

This was disclosed by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in a statement titled “President Buhari assents to Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020″.

According to the statement, President Buhari signed the piece of legislation on Thursday.

Shehu explained that the new law repeals the extant Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 1991 as amended.

He said the new law was expected to enhance the soundness and resilience of the financial system for sustainable growth and development of the Nigerian economy.

The statement reads, “The BOFI Act 2020 updates the enabling law in response to developments and significant evolution in the financial sector over the last two decades. It will increase the appetite of banks and other financial institutions to channel much-needed credit to the real sector to support economic recovery and promote sustainable growth.

“In this respect, it introduces a credit tribunal to improve loan recovery and address the incidence of high non-performing loans within the financial system, which has been a key deterrent to lending by financial institutions.

“Furthermore, it strengthens the regulatory and supervisory framework for the financial industry and provides additional tools for managing failing institutions and systemic distress to preserve financial stability amongst others.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria will hold structured engagements with stakeholders across various sectors of the economy on critical aspects of the Act in the coming months.

“This enactment of the BOFI Act 2020 is a historic and significant achievement, which is indicative of effective and productive collaboration between the Executive and Legislature arms of government.”

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has berated the existence of those it described as ‘bandits’, within the ranks of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) allegedly responsible for the perceived failures in the governance of Nigeria.

This latest outburst comes in the aftermath of a statement credited to the Director-General of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Dr Salihu Lukman, on Thursday suggesting that some APC leaders behave like “criminal bandits.”

In relation to that statement, the PDP said the APC “is no better than a pillaging and treasury looting gang.”

In a statement issued by its national spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan, on Thursday, November 12, the PDP said: “The fresh revelation that the All Progressives Congress (APC) brims with ‘political bandits’ has further confirmed why the APC has visited our nation with so much violence, power-grabbing, election malpractices, human right abuses, unbridled looting and divisive policies under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration.”