By Abba Gwale
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of banks will converge tomorrow at the Banks’ CEOs Summit.
The event which is being organised by Vanguard Newspaper in collaboration with the CBN and the Bankers Committee, will also be attended and addressed by Dr Kayode Fayemi, Chairman, Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ekiti State; Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State; and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, is the Special Guest of Honour at the hybrid event holding virtually and onsite, with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, as Guest of Honour.
The event is coming against the backdrop of the country’s exit from its second recession in five years, and the need for measures to sustain the recovery and ensure robust economic growth in the new decade. The theme of the one-day special summit, which holds at Eko Hotels and Suites in Lagos, is “How to Overcome the Pitfalls of Recession: Bankers Perspective and Prescriptions for An Enduring National Growth Path”.
Among other things, the summit will feature a keynote address by three state governors, a special session on ‘Road Map to Economic Recovery’, and executive syndicate sessions of banks’ CEOs.
Keynote speakers at the summit include: Dr Kayode Fayemi, Chairman, Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ekiti State; Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State; and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
Fayemi will speak on “Rebuilding the Economy Through State Governments”, Zulum will speak on “Rebuilding the Economy of Northern Nigeria”, while Sanwo-Olu will speak on “Rebuilding Lagos and the Southern Nigeria Economy”.
The session on “Road Map to Economic Recovery” will be addressed by Mr. Ben Akabueze, Director of Budgets in the Presidency, who will speak on “The Road Map to Economic Recovery: The role of Planning for a Desired Future”. On his part, HRM Sanusi Lamido Sanusi will speak on “The Road Map to Economic Recovery: Towards Positive Social Impacts”, while Dr. Doyin Salami, Chairman, Nigeria’s Economic Advisory Council will speak on “Insights on the Economy: Towards Sustainable Development and Growth Paths”. The session will be moderated by Mr Bismarck Rewane, MD/CEO, Financial Derivatives Limited.
The executive syndicate sessions will feature six groups of banks’ CEOs.
Group A will address “Exploring Agro and Agro Allied Businesses as a Booster to Economic Growth”. The discussants are the Managing Director/CEOs of Ecobank Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, FSDH Merchant Bank.
Group B will address “Resuscitating Nigeria’s Manufacturing Capabilities for the Next Level”. The discussants are the Managing Directors/CEOs of FCMB Plc, GT Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Citibank Nigeria Limited, and Nova Merchant Bank Limited.
Group C will focus on “Funding for the Telecom and Oil and Gas Sectors”. The discussants are the Managing Directors/CEOs, Polaris Bank Ltd, Standard Chartered Bank Ltd., Sterling Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and Titan Trust Bank. The syndicate session Group D will address “Harnessing Economic Potentials Through Integrated Rural Development”.
The discussants are the Managing Directors/CEOs of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Plc, and Bank of Industry.
Group E will focus on “Road to Sustainable Infrastructure Development”. The discussants are the Managing Directors/CEOs of Heritage Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, FBNQuest Merchant Bank, Providus Bank Limited, and Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited.
The syndicate session Group F will address “Empowering the People Through Retail Lending”. The discussants are the Managing Directors/CEOs of Zenith Bank Plc, Jaiz Bank Limited, Suntrust Bank Limited, Coronation Merchant Bank, and Keystone Bank.
