Speaking in a telephone interview with our correspondent, Mr. Boniface Okezie, chairman of Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (Psan) said the CBN has no right to sell any of the banks to core investors or any private individual for any reason, because we are not military dispensation where issues like this can be done by force.

According to him, because Nigeria had gone through a long period of military regime, that mentality has taken over their thinking. This is absolute wrong. Government just believes they have the gun and the knife, therefore they feel they can hit at will and no body does anything.

Okezie observed that there are a lot of contradictions from the CBN side. "I think they are contradicting themselves. You said you are asking somebody to re-capitalise, and again you said you are selling. There several occasions that we heard that some investors are interested in buying, what is buying? Is buying recapitalisation? Buying in plain languages means you are selling the banks. No shareholder will tell you not to recapitalise, but then you have to go through the normal process. If shareholders do not want to recapitalise, let their banks collapse on their heads, it is not your business," he said.

Mr. Sunny Nwosu, national coordinator of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, said the CBN did not establish any bank; therefore it has no right to sell the banks to investors, adding that this is a criminal offence.

He explained that all that the CBN needed do is to follow due process, call the directors appointed by the shareholders, not directors appointed by the CBN. Then they can begin to discuss the a way forward. Nwosu said before any action could be taken, there suppose to be an EGM for the shareholders to approve of it, if not the CBN has no right whatsoever.

"Why is the CBN excited about killing Nigeria banks, the fact remained that most of these people who have not contributed any meaningful thing to the society are the ones usually honoured by honorary awards. This is disheartening, Nwosu said.

Meanwhile, a senior stock broker who pleaded anonymity said the shareholders are right in their argument. "The banks belong to the shareholders, but because of the literacy level in the emerging market, shareholders are usually taken for granted and then people trample on their rights and get away with it, like even clearing banks without getting across to shareholders who are the owners of the banks. So I think their action is in the right direction and it shows that they are becoming more proactive and aware of their rights. Even if it is one unit of the bank that you are holding, you are one of the owners of the bank," he said.

The CBN had last week been dragged to a Federal High Court in Abuja by shareholders of the four troubled banks over the reported plan to sell off the banks to new investors, which they said was a wrong decision.

The shareholders, operating under the aegis of Registered Trustees of the Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria, asked the Federal High Court to stop the CBN governor from making pronouncements on the sales bid. They are seeking an order of interlocutory injunction to stop the CBN from carrying out the impending disposal.

The shareholders asked the court to stop the defendants, their servants, agents and privies from inviting bidders to buy over the four banks, pending the determination of the court action. In an apparent bid to justify their request for an interlocutory order, the bank owners claimed that despite the court action and papers served on the CBN, the defendants had continued to make efforts to sell off the banks.