TWO YEARS ON, HERITAGE BANK DEPOSITORS HAVE RECEIVED ONLY 14.2% OF THEIR MONEY

AFRICA NEEDS TWO MORE DANGOTE-SIZED REFINERIES

Small business owners among thousands still awaiting funds; depositors petition Tinubu, CBN for bailout

Depositors of the defunct Heritage Bank have formally appealed to President Bola Tinubu and CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso for emergency intervention after receiving only 14.2% of their uninsured deposits nearly two years after the bank's liquidation.

In a petition addressed to the CBN Governor and copied to the Presidency and the National Assembly, the depositors said an initial liquidation dividend of 9.2% was paid in April 2024, followed by a second tranche of 5% released in January 2026. The cumulative payment of 14.2% leaves the vast majority of uninsured funds inaccessible more than 22 months after the CBN revoked Heritage Bank's licence on June 3, 2024.

The depositors, who include small business owners, retirees, and civil servants, warned in their petition: "At this pace, it is doubtful that we are ever going to be repaid our full money. As the CBN Governor, you are fully abreast with the time value of money if at all we eventually get paid."

The group is calling on the CBN to provide immediate bailout funding to the NDIC, the appointed liquidator arguing that the insurance corporation lacks sufficient capital to complete the reimbursement process on its own. They pointed to the CBN's history of liquidity injections and regulatory-led mergers during past banking crises as precedent for intervention.

The NDIC's statutory insurance coverage cap is ₦5 million per depositor. Funds above that threshold are classified as uninsured and can only be recovered through liquidation dividends paid from proceeds of Heritage Bank's asset sales, which have been slow.

The depositors warned that continued delays could discourage savings, weaken confidence in Nigerian banks, and send negative signals to the global financial community.

The CBN and NDIC have not responded publicly to the petition.