The Chairman, United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has commended the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their concerted reforms toward reflating the Nigerian economy.
Elumelu, who gave the commendation at the bank’s 55th annual general meeting (AGM) last Friday in Lagos, said recent initiatives of the federal government are restoring investor confidence and stimulating productive activities, needed for economic recovery.
“I would like to commend the Federal Government of Nigeria and President Muhammadu Buhari on the recent launch of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan. It is laudable that the government widely consulted with the private sector in putting together this economic plan, which I believe should help address the immediate critical need of the Nigerian economy. As a stakeholder in Nigeria, I enjoin everyone to support these lofty agenda of the government, which hopefully should see the economy return to its deserved high growth path. No doubt, the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy remains strong and we all must work with the government to harness the potentials, not only for today but also for the benefit of our future generations.”
According to him, CBN must be applauded, especially for its exchange rate management at this challenging time.
“More importantly, recent policy actions of the CBN are particularly impressive, as we have seen notable increase in foreign currency supplies and the spread between the interbank market and parallel market exchange rates have moderated. We must commend our policy makers and encourage them to do even more,” Elumelu said.
Speaking on the impressive results of the UBA group, the chairman hailed the staff and management of the bank.
He said: “On behalf of the shareholders, I appreciate the commitment and enterprise of our staff and commend the management for the exceptional leadership, which resulted into the sterling performance of the bank amidst the challenging operating environment in 2016.”
Elumelu also emphasised the proactive diversification of UBA Group across the African continent, saying that the subsidiaries outside of Nigeria contributed a third of the group’s profit in 2016, thus reflecting the benefit of the bank’s geographic diversification.
He told shareholders that by investing in UBA, they have diversified their investment portfolio.
“You have not just invested in a Nigerian bank, but have invested in a bank with diversified reach, given our operations in Nigeria and 18 other African countries.”