'God, please help our banks'

2004-08-20 13:05

Lagos - Nigerian banks threatened with extinction following a recent government order on them to raise their capital base to around $190-million by the end of next year, have resorted to seeking divine intervention, a banker said on Friday.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) early last month gave banks until the end of next year to build up a capital base of 25 billion naira each or face being deregistered, a move likely to trigger a wave of mergers.

Not treating the issue with levity, more than a dozen bank directors and managers last Wednesday went for a special prayer session in posh Victoria Island district of Lagos, asking God to intervene in the matter to enable them overcome the looming danger, the banker, who attended the prayer session, said.

The prayer session was tagged "Divine intervention in the banking industry."

A Lagos-based pastor and head of a large Christian congregation, Prophet Samson Ayorinde, prayed for the bankers and sought God's intervention that the government decision on the banks be reversed, said another witness who participated in the special service.

Of the almost 90 banks operating in the country, no more than eight are thought capable of putting together such a huge capitalisation sum, particularly with central government progressively removing public funds from private sector accounts and banks.

President Olusegun Obasanjo has publicly expressed support for the CBN order.

- AFP