The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has elected Kenneth Opara as the 22nd President/Chairman of Council of the institute.
Dr Opara was elected to lead the institute for the next two years alongside seven other members at the institute’s 2022 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos.
He will take over for Dr. Bayo Olugbemi, whose two-year term ends on May 21.
The other elected officers are: Prof. Pius Oladeji Olanrewaju, FCIB, 1st Vice President; Mr Oladele Alabi, FCIB, 2nd Vice President and Mrs Mojisola Bakare-Asieru, FCIB, National Treasurer.
Dr Victor Aguwah, FCIB, Mr Olayinka Odutola, FCIB, Mrs Mary Aina, ACIB, and Mr Segun Oshadare, FCIB are the other members of the Governing Council that were chosen.
In his acceptance speech, Opara said, “I wholeheartedly accept the mandate to serve as the 22nd President and Chairman of Council of CIBN.
“I am mindful of the fact that you have high expectations for me and my colleagues. Let me assure you that we shall collectively do our best to deliver on your mandate as an obligatory, innovator and implementer.
“We will leverage what the past president has done and also look on how to build capacity, collaborate with the stakeholders, and work with other regulators and the banks to ensure that we make a perfect and meaningful competition.
“I thank the electoral officer and I congratulate all the candidates. I want to say that we are all winners, no victor no vanquish,’’ he said.
While providing financial highlights, CIBN National Treasurer Mr Oladele Alabi stated that the institute reported an improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N1.77 billion in 202.
Alabi stated that the IGR increased by 20.3% when compared to the N1.47 billion recorded in 2020.
He stated that the expansion demonstrated that the CIBN was strategically progressing toward its goal of being financially independent.
Alabi added the institute closed the year with a net operating surplus of N800.14 million from N570.26 million recorded in 2020, an increase of 40.31 per cent.
Mr Babatunde Oduwaye, Chairman of the CIBN Audit Committee, stated that the institute’s accounting and reporting standards were in compliance with legal requirements and ethical norms.
Speaking on the CIBN’s 2021 activities, Olugbemi, the outgoing President, stated that the institute stood strong as a vanguard for the development of banking education and professionalism in Nigeria and the world at large.
Olugbemi said that the number of individual members grew from 144,922 as of April 30, 2021 to 149,967 as of March 24, 2022, representing an increase of 3.5 per cent over the previous year.
Mr Seye Awojobi, CIBN Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, said that a total of 291 graduates were conferred with MCIB, 380 candidates with the ACIB and 320 candidates via the regular ACIB Examination route.
Awojobi also said that 41 candidates were conferred via the Chartered Banker MBA route and 19 candidates via the MSc/ACIB Linkage Programme route.
Members praised Olugbemi for his two-year leadership and indicated that there was need to improve the organisation’s membership drive.
