CIBN Improving Capacity, Begins Construction of Bankers House
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has reiterated its resolve to continue to strengthen the capacity of ready and upcoming bankers.
As part of the move towards achieving the goal , the CIBN has begun construction of a fully equipped building called Lagos Bankers House.
Speaking at the ground breaking ceremony recently, the outgoing President and Chairman of Council of the institute, Bayo Olugbemi, noted that the five storey architectural building which would come with ultra-modern gadgets, will bolster the performances of the bankers through lectures, researches and other activities in a comfortable environment.
The project, when completed, Olugbemi said will upscale competence
training and development of future-ready bankers.
“This project is, indeed, our modest contribution towards the promotion of banking.”
“We need to do much more for the upcoming bankers, the future bankers in terms of capacity building. I felt that we had to put up a legacy project that will outlive us. So that they can have a place they can call their own, receive lectures in a good ambience that is internet ready.
The CIBN president stated: “The Governing Council of our great Institute resolved to institute legacy projects in six geo-political zones in Nigeria. By God’s grace we have been able to commission four out of six, the other two are at an advanced stage and would be ready soon.
We got approval to support the Lagos branch on this project, the Ilorin branch, Osogbo branch, Owerri branch and we have bought property for the Ogun branch during my tenure.
I’m happy we’ve been able to achieve this with the support of the governing council and all our stakeholders in the industry.
The elated outgoing president said he was leaving a legacy that incoming executives can build on.
“I believe the leadership of the nation is trying its best, but they can do more in building the capacity of citizens.
Government alone cannot do it. That is why CIBN is partnering with the government. The schools we visited are government or state schools. I believe the ministry of education can also do similar things to support institutions..
The Chairman of CIBN Lagos branch, Peter Ashade, described the groundbreaking ceremony as a significant milestone in the history of the institute as Lagos happens to be the flagship branch of the institute.
Ashade, who is also the Group CEO, United Capital Plc, noted that the journey to achieving the laudable vision with the support of the national secretariat has given the institute a lot of hope as the edifice would be commissioned in due time.
Ashade also said the location is strategic as completing the property would give the institute better visibility.
“We have done a lot. We are building a point of reference where a lot more can be done. One of the floors will be used for CBT. We are trying to position ourselves to mirror what is happening at the national in terms of visibility and sustaining the capacity building of the institute. We have done a lot. In the precovid we had brick and mortar but in the post COVID now we have the virtual center.
Building Committee Chairman, Kola Abdul, said the building, which would be completed in a reasonable time, would advance the institute’s cause as a professional body.
