A group, the Osun Itesiwaju Alliance (OIA) has urged Osun State government under Governor Ademola Adeleke’s leadership to be wary, cautious and careful with respect to the running of the affairs of the Living Trust Mortgage Bank Plc and matters that have to do with the financial institution’s relationship with the Cititrust Holding PLC and the nation’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The group in a statement issued in Osogbo and made available to Team@orientactualmags.com by its Chairman, Mr Paul Oderinu and Secretary, Mr Iwaloye Sulaiman on Monday noted that it is important that the state government stay the course in respect of the efforts to get the Living Trust Mortgage Bank Plc repositioned.
The statement said the Cititrust Holding PLC getting declared as an illegal company alongside 57 others by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) a few weeks ago, had made it expedient to cautiously deal with the company in question.
CitiTrust, the group added, had sequel to the declaration made by the EFCC forfeited its shares in Livingtrust Mortgage Bank to the Federal Government through a Federal High Court judgment while adding that although CitiTrust had claimed that it has appealed the forfeiture ruling, no one has however seen the stay of execution of the Federal High Court judgment.
The group also urged the state government to take firm and timely actions and avoid foot-dragging or inconsistency citing the nomination, withdrawal and renomination of Dr Kamaldeen Adekilekun as Director, Chairman /Board of Directors of Livingtrust Mortgage Bank in separate letters signed by Olusoji Wojuade, Permanent Secretary, Bureau of Cabinet, Special Services, office of the SSG which were dated April 17, 2025, April 28, 2025 , and March 26 , 2025.
‘That the state government and other shareholders are yet to receive a stay of execution or overturning of the judgment against Cititrust by the appeal court. Section 17(1) of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (Establishment) Act, 2004 addresses the issue of dealing with property from Unlawful Acts and states that ‘Any person who… deals with, receives, or assists in transferring any property derived from any unlawful act commits an offence’.
These have been the reasons why the state government has been avoiding sitting with representatives of Cititrust Holdings. After all, the state government has been holding board meetings with Cititrust since 2019 when they bought into the bank, until 2025 when they were declared a Ponzi scheme.
Furthermore, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism in Banks and Other Financial Institutions) Regulations 2022, sections 17 & 18 state that Financial institutions must not enter business relationships with shell companies, anonymous clients, or entities engaging in illegal activities. The state government is therefore of the opinion that persons declared as Ponzi scheme operators should not be allowed to manage a bank. Whilst the issue of the forfeiture of Cititrust’s shares to the FGN may be subject to legal interpretation, the fact that having reviewed their mode of operations, the EFCC, a competent agency of government with the statutory right to do so, has pronounced them a ponzi scheme is uncontested and incontrovertible.
Finally, we believe that directors of a bank should be persons that are ‘fit and proper’, in line with the provisions of the CBN circular FRP/DIR/GEN/05/014 dated October15, 2015, on the revised criteria for approved persons regime. Whilst we do not intend to cast aspersions on the persons of the director nominees of Cititrust, they are agents of Cititrust Holdings, a Ponzi scheme operator. By law, an agent cannot be divorced from his principal. An agent acts on the principal’s behalf. This is based on the principle that an agent’s actions are legally considered the principal’s own, a concept captured by the Latin maxim qui facit per alium facit per se (he who acts through another, acts for himself). Cititrust is its directors, and the directors are therefore Cititrust.
The state government submitted that it is relying on the CBN to compel CitiTrust-led management to allow Annual General Meeting (AGM) within 45 days for shareholders to exercise their rights, which has not been done in the last two (2) years.
CBN Other Financial Institutions Department officials, subsequently, invited both parties to a meeting and asked that they should find a peaceful way of resolving the issues. The effort to get CBN to consider the Consortium of Shareholders, which now has a Controlling shares of over fifty percent shareholding was resisted by the CBN officials, who were pretending to be pleading for peace. A CBN official promised to commit into writing the issue of public trust challenge, to absolve the state of any risk and to allay public’s fears with respect to trust .
The state has been able to keep the feet of CitiTrust Managers close to the burners, so as to safeguard the assets of the Livingtrust bank and had gone to Court with other shareholders to exercise their rights to compel the bank to hold AGM. CBN has directed withdrawal of court cases, even when the state is of the opinion that it is better to keep the case in abeyance for sometimes and see if CitiTrust will put on good corporate toga to allow peaceful co-existence and fair dealings at the board level. The representatives of the State Government, had promised to take the position to the shareholder (the state government, not knowing that they will still be screwed up.
Surprisingly and with a volte-face, CBN wrote a letter dated October 20, two (2) working days after the meeting of Wednesday, October 15, 2025, which apparently, took side with CitiTrust by ratifying the sole position, presented by CitiTrust at the meeting. It was a complete divergent from the position mutually agreed upon. CitiTrust management is back to its belligerent attitude of treating Osun’s representatives with resentment, but the legal actions will continue to safeguard the assets of the bank.
The other side of the story is that Osun State government’s team is challenged by a fifth-columnist who is reportedly working with CitiTrust and supporting them to thwart the efforts of the state government to prevent contagious effect on Livingtrust bank, a known risk in financial industry.
The letter to withdraw his nomination which was signed by Governor Ademola Adeleke and dated March 26, 2025, was ignored by the Managing Director of Livingtrust Mortgage Bank PLC, who was supposed to forward it to the Central Bank of Nigeria. Likewise the last letter (known to the writer) on his nomination dated 29th April, 2025, and signed by a Permanent Secretary in the Office of SSG was ignored by the MD of the bank. Although, the reason for the inconsistencies on the part of the Osun State Government on his nomination/renomination is not known, it has been alleged that he is being kept on the board to thwart the efforts of the representatives of the state, who are weary of CitiTrust.
Irrespective of the political coloration that might be given to this, the governor is taken a risk of favoring one zone against the other. That a Managing Director of an organization will ignore the red pen of the Executive Governor speaks volume about his perception and how the State Government officials have comported themselves.
When the current government came into being in November 2022, its efforts to be properly briefed were frustrated by the corporate organizations, who ought to know, suddenly the Managing Director of the bank resigned in January 2024 citing pressure from the Cititrust. Osun State had to withdraw the Chairman, Mr Adebayo Jimoh to gain visibility on the following (a) Confirmation of the status of irregularities that can impair capital and depositors’ fund because CitiTrust is already having challenges (b) confirmation of the quantity of Osun’s shares remaining after 2019 sales of Osun shares to CitiTrust (c) Confirmation, if CBN ever approved the sale and if CitiTrust ever paid for the shares (c) locate the sale proceed and status.
All have been achieved, to the surprise of many financial pundits, the bank (then, Omoluabi mortgage bank) did not apply for CBN approval of ‘no objection’ until one month after sale of shares has commenced. So, it is not now, that CitiTrust has been getting away with ‘many things’ with CBN. The sale proceeds neither went into the bank or used to increase capital of the bank. If the bank should face capital impairment now, the State Government will have to cough out funds to recapitalize it and that is why it has been on its toes. The Adeleke-led State Government will have to protect itself, knowing full well that CBN has always taken side with CitiTrust’ the group submitted-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com. Thank you
