The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says it has remitted about ₦950 billion to the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), with expectations of surpassing last year’s ₦274 billion contribution as its financial performance continues to improve.
Speaking at a media briefing on the Corporation’s contribution to the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, Dr. Thompson Oludare Sunday, NDIC Managing Director, said the Corporation has remained financially self-sustaining while consistently supporting government revenue.
“I think we have contributed about ₦950 billion to the CRF and our contribution has continued to trend upward. Last year, it was around ₦274 billion. Hopefully, this year will be better than that,” he said.
Dr. Sunday also ruled out any immediate increase in deposit insurance premiums paid by insured financial institutions, saying the current framework already provides extensive protection for depositors.
He explained that any future review would only follow a comprehensive assessment, warning that excessively generous insurance coverage could reduce banks’ commitment to prudent risk management.
According to him, the current insurance structure fully protects 98.98 per cent of depositors, making any immediate adjustment unnecessary.
The NDIC boss gave renewed assurances to customers of the defunct Heritage Bank, stating that the Corporation expects to make additional payments to uninsured depositors once it recovers outstanding debts owed by some of the bank’s major borrowers.
“A particular borrower in Heritage Bank is being required to pay a lot of money. If we recover that, we will be able to pay most of the remaining depositors,” he said.
He explained that beyond settling insured deposits, the NDIC continues to recover loans, dispose of assets and realise investments belonging to failed banks before paying liquidation dividends to depositors whose balances exceed the insured limit.
According to him, the Corporation has already paid more than ₦120 billion to Heritage Bank depositors through insured deposits and liquidation dividends.
He said the NDIC initially paid ₦51.04 billion as insured deposits shortly after the bank’s licence was revoked, followed by ₦46.6 billion in liquidation dividends in April 2025 and another ₦24.3 billion in January 2026.
“We remain committed to recovering more assets so that additional payments can be made,” he added.
Sunday disclosed that the Corporation has significantly reduced the time required to compensate depositors after a bank failure.
Although the NDIC Act allows up to 30 days for payment, he said the Corporation now settles insured deposits within 72 hours of a bank’s licence revocation.
He attributed the faster process to the use of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) and the NDIC’s electronic claims platform, which enables direct transfers into depositors’ alternative bank accounts.
“Our law allows us 30 days to pay, but we considered that too long. We now make payments within 72 hours through our electronic platform,” he said.
Sunday said the NDIC Act 2023 has strengthened depositor protection by giving depositors priority over creditors and shareholders during bank liquidation.
He added that the law also grants the Corporation enhanced powers to resolve distressed banks, recover assets and prosecute individuals responsible for bank failures.
Under the new framework, deposit insurance coverage for commercial banks has increased from ₦500,000 to ₦5 million, while coverage for customers of microfinance banks, primary mortgage banks and payment service banks has risen from ₦200,000 to ₦2 million.
The expanded coverage now fully protects 98.98 per cent of deposit money bank customers, up from 89.2 per cent before the latest review.
Coverage has also increased to 99.27 per cent for microfinance banks, 99.34 per cent for primary mortgage banks and 99.99 per cent for payment service banks.
On the banking sector recapitalisation programme, the NDIC chief expressed confidence in the industry’s resilience, stressing that regulators thoroughly verified every capital injection to ensure banks did not rely on borrowed funds or other unacceptable sources.
“The capital that was accepted is very strong. It is the kind of capital that can absorb losses,” he said.
He noted that while the Corporation has conducted several simulation exercises to prepare for unforeseen events, it does not anticipate bank failures arising from the recapitalisation programme.
Sunday disclosed that the NDIC currently provides deposit insurance coverage for 914 licensed financial institutions, protecting more than 281 million deposit accounts nationwide.
He added that the Corporation recovered ₦42.65 billion from outstanding loans owed to failed financial institutions, realised ₦14.72 billion from investments, and generated ₦78.57 billion from the disposal of assets belonging to failed banks.
The NDIC is currently overseeing the liquidation of 653 failed financial institutions, while also strengthening industry supervision. In 2025, it conducted on-site examinations of 287 financial institutions and resolved 1,196 of the 1,407 complaints received from depositors.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Raymond Omenka Omachi, commended the NDIC for its financial discipline, describing it as one of the few government agencies that consistently remits revenue to the Consolidated Revenue Fund while sustaining its operations through insurance premiums and investment income.
