…Corporation says over 98% of depositors fully covered as insured limit rises to ₦5m
Daud Olatunji
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation has warned Nigerians against keeping substantial funds with unlicensed financial operators and Ponzi schemes, cautioning that promises of extraordinary returns could expose depositors to devastating financial losses.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive of the NDIC, Thompson Oludare Sunday, gave the warning on Wednesday while delivering the keynote address at the Corporation’s Special Day during the 21st Abuja International Trade Fair organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.
Sunday urged Nigerians to keep their money with licensed and regulated financial institutions and to verify investment opportunities before committing their funds.
According to him, the proliferation and collapse of Ponzi schemes have repeatedly demonstrated the financial and emotional consequences of placing hard-earned money in unregulated investment platforms.
“There are still Nigerians who keep substantial funds outside the formal banking system or entrust their savings to unlicensed fund managers, attracted by promises of extraordinary and unrealistic returns,” he said.
He added, “If an investment promise sounds too good to be true, Nigerians should pause, ask questions and verify before committing their money.”
The NDIC boss said the Corporation had continued to strengthen Nigeria’s financial safety-net architecture to ensure that the banking system remained safe, sound and resilient.
He explained that the NDIC’s mandate covers deposit guarantee, bank supervision in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria, failure resolution and bank liquidation.
Sunday said the Corporation enhanced its deposit insurance coverage in 2024, raising the maximum insured limit to ₦5m per depositor per Deposit Money Bank and Mobile Money Operator.
He added that the insured limit was raised to ₦2m per depositor for Microfinance Banks, Primary Mortgage Banks and Payment Service Banks.
According to him, the enhanced limits provide full coverage for more than 98 per cent of depositors across insured institutions, thereby offering protection to households, small businesses and other vulnerable depositors in the event of bank failure.
He, however, explained that depositors whose balances exceed the insured limits could still receive liquidation dividends from recoveries made from debts owed to failed institutions and the disposal of their physical assets.
Sunday said the Corporation was also transforming the process of reimbursing depositors of failed banks through the deployment of technology.
He listed the Bank Verification Number, Single Customer View, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System infrastructure and other digital solutions among the technologies being used to accelerate reimbursement.
He said verified depositors of failed banks could now receive their insured deposits within days of the closure of a bank, compared with the cumbersome manual processes associated with claims processing in the past.
The NDIC chief executive said the Corporation was moving beyond its traditional role of paying depositors after bank failures to becoming a “Risk Minimizer” capable of identifying vulnerabilities early and preventing institutional problems from escalating into systemic crises.
He said the Corporation had strengthened its institutional framework through initiatives including Risk-Based Supervision, an enhanced Differential Premium Assessment System, the Single Customer View Framework, a distress resolution suite and the Bank Liquidation Management System.
He added that stronger collaboration with the CBN and other members of the financial safety-net architecture had also become central to the Corporation’s efforts to maintain financial stability.
New website
The NDIC boss also announced the launch of an upgraded corporate website designed to improve access to depositor-protection services.
He said the new website, launched on September 19, 2026, provides a digital gateway for depositors and other stakeholders, with features including automated claims-processing tools and an upgraded directory for checking NDIC-insured institutions.
According to him, the platform also has a Quick Action Bar providing direct access to four services — filing claims, checking banks, reporting failed banks and accessing frequently asked questions.
He said an artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant had also been incorporated to improve interaction with users and provide faster access to information.
“This is more than a website upgrade. It is another step in our journey towards a more accessible, responsive and technology-driven NDIC,” Sunday said.
He urged depositors, creditors and shareholders of closed banks to make greater use of the Corporation’s digital platforms when processing their claims.
He also advised depositors to ensure that their banking information was accurate and consistent across financial institutions and properly linked to their BVNs to facilitate faster reimbursement.
Sunday said depositors no longer needed to endure unnecessary visits to failed bank premises or NDIC offices for routine physical verification or carry large volumes of documents from one location to another.
Financial literacy key to protection
The NDIC chief executive stressed that technology and regulation alone could not guarantee financial security, describing financial literacy as the first line of defence for depositors and business owners.
He urged Nigerians and businesses to improve their knowledge of financial services, use digital financial services responsibly, maintain sound financial practices and seek guidance from relevant regulatory institutions when necessary.
“The more informed the public becomes, the stronger our collective capacity to build a resilient financial system,” he said.
Sunday said the NDIC’s participation in the Abuja International Trade Fair was intended to deepen public understanding of deposit insurance, depositor protection, claims processing and financial literacy.
He also congratulated the Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture for sustaining the trade fair for 21 consecutive years.
The event was held under the theme, “Resilience: Trade, Taxation and the Economy,” which the NDIC boss described as timely in view of ongoing economic reforms and the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1tn economy by 2030.
He said a resilient financial system remained essential to businesses because companies needed safe channels for safeguarding working capital, making payments and accessing credit for investment and expansion.
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