President Muhammadu Buhari has commended First Bank of Nigeria Limited for innovation and regeneration which has helped its operations since the colonial era till now.
Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, said this during an event to mark the bank’s 125th anniversary in Lagos on Tuesday.
Dignitaries from the government, banking industry and other financial sectors were present at the event.
He said, “I am pleased to felicitate with you for a royal milestone in our country. This is a landmark in our country from the colonial era till now.
“I commend you for providing financial service to the country. Your bank deserves commendation for innovation and regeneration.”
During the plenary session on ‘Global tendency as catalyst for Africa’s ascendancy’ at the event, Ahmed said the global interdependencies as catalyst for Africa’s ascendancy were both an opportunity and a threat in Africa.
She said, “There are a lot of risks; some of them are within our control while others are not. We must, as government, ensure that we are able to build fiscal purpose, also that we are providing enough policy incentive that will attract capital both locally and international, and we are not worried about Foreign Direct Investment coming, but we will prefer to have real investments coming into the country.
“So, whatever we need to do in terms of policy, we should do. The infrastructural deficit is too large for this government or any government to tackle alone, so we must partner with the private sector and allow private capital to come in and use it to develop our economy.”
Wife of the Vice- President of Nigeria, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, prayed for the bank to continue to grow higher.
“As they grow higher, they will have the ability to help more Nigerians. My prayer is for First Bank to go to the next level,” she said.
The Chief Executive Officer, First Bank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said, “The reason this institution survived and is getting stronger is because innovation and transformation are in our DNA.”