MD/CE NDIC – Bello Hassan (centre), President NGE – Mustapha Isa (3rd right) flanked by NDIC Management staff and NGE Executive Members during a courtesy call by the Guild to the Executive Management of the NDIC in Abuja.

By Ossom Raphael
Abuja – The Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Bello Hassan said there is need for the media to ensure accurate and factual coverage of the banking industry especially in terms of reporting on the perceived impact and threats on depositors’ funds and the activities of financial system supervisors like the NDIC.

The NDIC Boss said this while receiving a delegation of the executive members of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) led by the Guild’s President Mr. Mustapha Isah on a courtesy visit to the Corporation.

A statement by the Director, Communication & Public Affairs Department of the NDIC, Bashir Nuhu, quoted Hassan expressing concern about the instances of inaccuracies and misinformation observed in some media reports by less professional media practitioners that need to be addressed even as he commended the media for their cooperation in enhancing public awareness about the activities of the Corporation.

He informed the members of the Guild that it was in recognition of the media’s critical role in promoting public awareness that the Corporation implements initiatives for sustained interactions with media practitioners like the annual “NDIC Editors’ Forum” for Publishers and Media Executives and “The Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) Workshop” for Business Editors and Finance Correspondents.

He explained that these initiatives are aimed at capacity building and providing updates on the current activities of the Corporation to deepen the knowledge of journalists on issues in the financial sector.

The NDIC Boss, further stressed the need for closer collaboration with the media to enhance the quality of the reportage to promote factual and accurate information.

Hassan, therefore, assured the NGE’s President that the Corporation would support and strengthen partnership with the Guild in order to address the challenges and successfully achieve mutually beneficial objectives of enhancing public awareness.

On his part, the NGE President, Mustapha Isah, described the Guild as the NDIC’s partner in progress and commended the NDIC on its achievements.

He stated that depositors had increased confidence in the safety of their savings in banks due to the Corporation’s continuous diligence in its successful implementation of the Deposit Insurance System in Nigeria. While soliciting for the Corporation’s support for the Guild’s upcoming conference in September, he expressed the NGE’s commitment towards greater partnership and collaboration with the NDIC to achieve its public awareness goals.