Nigeria: The protracted saga of the Polaris Bank sale
By
Dulue Mbachu
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Posted on
April 11, 2023 14:53
Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele briefis the media during the MPC meeting in Abuja, Nigeria January 24, 2020. REUTERS
Ahead of Nigeria’s anticipated political transition, with President-elect Bola Tinubu’s inauguration scheduled for 29 May, speculation is mounting about changes at the country’s central bank and the role of its governor Godwin Emefiele. The CBN has been under fire for its exchange rate policies and also its interventions on troubled banks, including the sale of the ailing Polaris Bank.
In 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria took over the bank while it was on the brink of collapse, rebranding it as Polaris Bank. Four years later, in October 2022, the CBN sold it. Instead of applause, it triggered a wave of allegations: lawmakers, trade unions, and other opponents of the deal all cried foul. What happened?
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