Mrs Osaretin Demuren, President of the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria, has urged bank directors to improve their corporate governance practices in order to ensure the banking sector’s stability and transparency.
On Wednesday, she said this at BDAN’s 24th annual general meeting in Lagos.
It is important, she believes, to ensure that director appointments are duly accepted and that only eligible applicants are selected.
“Bank directors should be trained in corporate governance. “You have to find out on what basis you’re hiring directors, and not everyone is corporate governance-compliant,” she said.
“We have progressed beyond banking to the point where banks should be owned by individuals,” she said. After that is taken care of, corporate governance can be created.
“However, when an individual is directly or indirectly responsible, it is now up to the regulator or the nation to bring that person to justice.”
The BDAN president, who was due to resign, had her term extended for another 90 days by the council and members, pending the election and selection of a new president.
“I took over as the president of BDAN in October 2018, at the 21st annual general meeting,” she said in her opening remarks.
“Since taking office, I am confident in saying that, with the help of my colleagues, we have been able to fulfill the association’s mandate by increasing member participation, increasing revenue as evidenced by our financial statements, and improving the quality of our programs.
”Despite this, there is still much more to be done, particularly in terms of lobbying regulators. I am confident that whoever succeeds President Obama will continue to fulfill our goals.
“As a result, I am informing this meeting that this is the last meeting in which I will act as president, as my tenure as chairman of Guaranty Trust Bank has come to an end, and we are in a transition period.
“In light of this, we will also have a transition period during which I will confer with my fellow bank chairmen on who will succeed me.”
She told members that they would be kept informed throughout the process.