BY COBHAM NSA – The newly inaugurated management team of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has been challenged to robustly safeguard and deliver on the Corporation’s role as a financial safety net as the country advances towards economic stability and prosperity.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, threw the challenge while inaugurating the Corporation’s new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Thompson Oludare Sunday, and Executive Director (Operations), Dr. Kabir Sabo Katata, at the Ministry of Finance, Abuja.
Mr Edun said the NDIC cannot afford to shirk in its responsibility of protecting depositors and contributing to the stability of Nigeria’s financial system in line with the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of the present administration.
The Minister, while acknowledging that the times are quite challenging, stressed the need for thorough supervision to ensure the safety and soundness of banking institutions, to effectively protect the interests of creditors and shareholders.
He further charged the Management team to bring their diverse wealth of experience to bear on the new assignment while assuring them of the Ministry’s full support in handling the task ahead.
In his response, the new NDIC Chief Executive, Mr Sunday, who spoke on behalf of the Management team, appreciated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for their appointments.
He pledged that the Management, under his leadership, will live up to the expectations of Mr President and the nation in general in discharging their duties for the overall stability and integrity of the Nigerian financial system.
Meanwhile, a statement by Hawwau Gambo, Head, Communication and Public Affairs Department, NDIC, indicated that the Management team later enjoyed a warm welcome by the workforce at the Corporation’s Head Office, with the Managing Director promising to work in harmony with the staff to move NDIC to its next level of performance.
He assured that the new Management would focus on the public policy objectives, functions, and mandate devolved on the Corporation by the enabling law that established it.
New Chief Executive’s Profile
A seasoned financial expert with over 30 years of regulatory and supervisory experience, Thompson Oludare Sunday cut his career teeth with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1989.
Thereafter, he went ahead to acquire high-end knowledge in Central Banking, spending 24 unbroken years in banking supervision.
While his vast experience is in the regulation and supervision of licensed institutions, his deep expertise spans corporate governance, risk management, and compliance as a veritable tool for ensuring the safety and soundness of institutions.
As a highly analytical and cross-functional team worker with a strong interest in building individual and institutional capacity for transformation and excellence, Thompson’s skills and experience were honed by several key responsibilities and special assignments he handled for the apex Bank before his retirement as a Director in 2021.
Thompson’s academic pathway was as decorated as his career trajectory. He graduated with First Class Honours in Business Administration (Finance) from the reputed Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in 1985. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the same institution, Zaria, in 1988, before capping it with a Doctorate Degree in Management from St. Clements University in 2009.
His outstanding academic prowess earned him the Federal Government of Nigeria Merit Award for Academic Excellence, 1985, and the Prize for Best Graduating Student of Business Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, also in 1985.
He was appointed the Managing Director/Chief Executive of NDIC on Friday, 25th July 2025, following his nomination by President Tinubu and eventual confirmation by the Senate.
The Man Kabir Sabo Katata
A quantitative energy strategist and computational finance expert with strong power trading and risk management experience, the new ED (Operations), Kabir Sabo Katata, has over twenty-eight years’ experience in the design and management of technically innovative systems in multiple industries, including telecommunications, IT, energy (petroleum & power), finance, and government.
He is a specialist in sophisticated financial optimization, the application of modern statistical techniques, and mathematics to energy, deposit insurance, and banking sectors.
Kabir holds a B.Sc. Upper Second Class in Computer Science, Mathematics, and Statistics from the University of Abuja, Nigeria; M.Sc. with Distinction in Computer and Network Engineering from Sheffield Hallam University, UK; M.Sc. and Postgraduate Diploma in Finance from Imperial College Business School, Imperial College, London.
He has a PhD in Financial Engineering and Management Science from Warwick Business School, University of Warwick, UK. His thesis was titled: “Risk Management, Portfolio Optimization and Trading in Energy & Financial Markets”.
Dr. Katata joined the NDIC in 2012 as an Assistant Director in the Research, Policy, and International Relations Department and rose to the pinnacle of his career as Director in January 2022.
He was appointed NDIC’s Executive Director (Operations) on Friday, 25th July 2025, following his nomination by the President and subsequent confirmation by the Senate.
