>>January, 11, 2009: NEXT began its report on Nigeria's failing regulatory agencies. It revealed that the country's foremost bank regulatory body, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had doled out ₦941 billion of taxpayers' money to about 14 banks through an Expanded Discount Window without authorisation from the National Assembly or the Presidency.
Of great concern was the fact that the banks were securing these "windows" with "toxic assets", including bad loans and stocks whose values had already crashed.
>>March 11, 2009: We brought to light another of CBN failure, in the case of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and the former governor of CBN, Chukwuma Soludo. A panel, set up by the Federal Government to investigate the activities of the AFC, resolved that Mr. Soludo had used the AFC for ‘Round-Tripping'. The panel also found Mr. Soludo guilty of violating the CBN Act and "gross abuse of office."
The AFC was a brainchild of Mr. Soludo, meant to serve as a mega investment bank, and had drawn investment from Intercontinental Bank ($50m), Union Bank ($50m) and Oceanic Bank ($50m). The AFC was eventually declared illegal by the Attorney General of the federation.
>>A similar report in the same month showed Mr. Soludo attempting to allay fears over Nigerian banks. Mr. Soludo on one hand claimed that the banks were healthy enough to cover their bad loans, but on the other hand he called for contingency plans.
>> March 15, 2009: NEXT in an elaborate report analysed not just the policies practiced by the former governor but also attempted to relate his lifestyle with some of the failures that he faced. Mr. Soludo's incestuous relationship with some of the banks and bankers, whom he was mandated to regulate, could have limited his ability to carry out his functions barring conflict of interests.
>>June 04, 2009:Shortly after Mr. Soludo's tenure came to an end, NEXT reported the entry of Lamido Sanusi as the new CBN governor. Mr. Sanusi was prompt to declare that the one sure step he would take to resuscitate the ailing commercial banks would be to effect closer supervision.
>>June 07, 2009: Mr. Sanusi granted an exclusive interview to NEXT, where he spoke of his personal life and his hopes for CBN. Mr. Sanusi restated his strength in risk management while confessing his need for operational skills. In his words, "improving regulation, improving transparency, improving risk management" are some of the basic things that he would like to achieve as the new CBN chief, alluding also to the possibility of making changes in the board of some banks.
>>August 14, 2009: NEXT broke the report that Mr. Sanusi, true to his words, had begun a cleanup of the Nigerian banking sector. In the exercise which saw the dismissal of five bank chiefs as well as their executive directors,the governor declared that the sack was related to failure in risk management and corporate governance.
Mr. Sanusi further confirmed NEXT's initial report on the "toxic assets" used by some banks to secure the Discount Window offered by CBN during Mr. Soludo's tenure.