Abuja: President Bola Tinubu has urged bankers, stakeholders, and investors to embrace new economic reforms to build agile, inclusive, and accountable institutions. Tinubu made this call while speaking at the 18th Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) Annual Banking and Finance Conference in Abuja.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the President, represented by Mr. Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, emphasized that recent government reforms have provided credibility and transformed policies into incentives, enhancing inclusion. The reforms listed include forex unification, fuel subsidy removal, tax reforms, and infrastructure financing, among others. These measures have led to a 40.5% year-on-year growth in non-oil revenue collection between January and August. Furthermore, Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) inflows rebounded to 2.8 billion dollars for the first half of 2025, and public debt sustainability relative to GDP improved by 37%.
Highlighting the importance of technology, Tinubu called for stakeholders to adopt it as an equalizer rather than a divider. He remarked, “In today’s rapidly changing environment, it is nations that innovate, reform, collaborate, that will thrive, and this is the path that Nigeria is firmly committed to.”
Senator Mikhail Adetokunbo, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and other Institutions, stated that the conference’s theme was timely, reflecting the current realities in the country. He assured that the National Assembly would provide a robust legislative framework to support innovation.
Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, announced the bank’s target of a one billion dollar diaspora reserve by 2026, up from the current 600 million dollars, and stressed the banks’ role in achieving this goal.
Mr. Oludare Sunday, Managing Director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), reaffirmed the corporation’s commitment to supporting financial innovations and ensuring bank depositors are not left out in claims settlements.
Oliver Alawuba, Chairman of the Body of Banks Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), emphasized that the future of banking would be defined by agility, trust, and technological leverage, rather than size and legacy. He assured that the banking industry remains committed to collaborating with policymakers and technology partners to design inclusive, competitive, and globally benchmarked solutions.
In his keynote address, Sumaila Zubairu, CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation, stressed the need for Nigeria to design an economic playbook that highlights its strengths and addresses challenges. Prof. Pius Olarewaju, President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), described banking and finance as the economy’s growth engine, crucial for turning savings into investments and facilitating capital flows. He highlighted the role of technology as an accelerator of innovation and change, essential for economic growth and poverty reduction.
