President Muhammadu Buhari praised the Bank of Industry (BoI) board and management for their contributions to Nigeria’s growth and industrialization on Thursday.
Buhari made the remarks while unveiling the bank’s second structure in Abuja. He claimed that the new structure would increase BoI’s potential for Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
In the last four years, BoI has raised approximately $4 billion from over 100 international banks/investors in over 20 countries. The bank also stated that it planned to raise the figure to around $10 billion in the next few years.
Buhari stated that the development finance institution had disbursed over N1.4 trillion to MSMEs at a single-digit interest rate.
This aided Nigerians in gaining access to credit and making it more affordable, as well as supporting the diversification agenda.
Buhari spoke to the crowd via video conferencing. Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Adeniyi Adebayo; Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; Chairman of BoI, Mallam Aliyu AbdulRahman Dikko; and the bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, as well as development partners, were all present at the unveiling of the BoI edifice.
The president expressed confidence that the BoI would be able to provide more funding for the country’s business growth by issuing a €700 million Eurobond.
“I’m especially impressed that this world-class building will finance the bank’s internally generated revenue,” he said. As a federal policy institution, the BoI has continued to succeed in fulfilling its mission. This government provided single-digit interest rate loans through the Bank of Industry.
“Since its inception, the Bank of Industry has disbursed over N1.4 trillion to micro, SMEs, and large enterprises, resulting in the creation of over nine million jobs.”
Over the past 62 years, Adebayo said, the Bank of Industry has added significant value to the federal government’s industrialisation agenda, and he thanked the president and other government officials for their trust in the bank.
Buhari announced that the DFI had been chosen as the implementation partner for a number of commendable projects aimed at reducing poverty, creating jobs, and ensuring affordable financing for Nigerian businesses.
In his remarks, Emefiele stated that Buhari deserves full credit for setting the tone for the country’s development and economic diversification, as well as the restructuring of the Nigerian economy’s foundation.
The CBN and the Federal Ministry of Finance jointly own BoI, he said, adding that the central bank has been working closely with the DFI to ensure that it fulfills its mandate.
“Since 2014, when I assumed leadership of the CBN, we have ensured that we work closely with the BoI to ensure that their core mandate, which is to provide finance for the development of not just Small and Medium Enterprises but also our large corporates, is carried out,” the CBN governor said.
“That they will be able to complement our efforts in achieving President Muhammadu Buhari’s vision, which states that we should work together to ensure that finance is available to Nigerians, and not only that finance is available to Nigerians, but that it is available at affordable interest rates.”
“I will continue to give credit to the president for setting the vision for Nigeria’s economic development and diversification,” he added. Not only development and diversification, but also ensuring that we work diligently to restructure the Nigerian economy’s foundation.
“From an import-dependent economy to a self-sufficient economy that develops itself and ensures that we reduce imports while increasing exports and production.”
Nigeria, according to Emefiele, has the potential to grow not only its own economy but also the economies of other Sub-Saharan African countries.
Within the last four years, the BoI managing director revealed that the bank had raised about $4 billion from over 100 international banks/investors in over 20 countries, with the majority of the funds ending up in the country’s foreign reserve.
Pitan assured Buhari that the board would work harder and “complete our succession planning project, which is on-going with our consultants, Price Waterhouse,” while thanking Buhari for extending his and the chairman’s terms for another five years.
Pitan said that with the president’s help, BoI was able to approach the international capital market and close a number of funding transactions, including a $750 million syndicated medium-term loan in 2018, which had now been fully paid; a €1 billion syndicated loan in March 2020; a $1 billion syndicated loan in December 2020; and, most recently, a €750 million Senior Eurobond (the first by any African national DFI) in February 2022, whose sovereign guarantee had also been
The BoI MD went on to say that the funds had significantly improved the bank’s ability to support Nigeria’s real sector on a long-term basis.
Dikko, for one, said the commissioning was a significant milestone for the bank because it marked the end of many years of tenacity and determination to ensure that the edifice was completed.
According to him, the new building should open new business frontiers for the country in general, given the bank’s rising profile and operations.
According to him, the Bank of India has been delivering on its mandate of transforming the country’s industrial sector by providing affordable and long-term financing to key segments and sectors of the economy for decades.
According to the chairman of the Bank of Ireland, the bank has supported over 3.2 million MSMEs and large enterprises in the last five years alone, creating over 7.1 million direct and indirect jobs.
The bank’s total assets increased from N683 billion in 2016 to N1.7 trillion in 2021, according to him.
“From the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, and now to the newly introduced National Development Plan,” he said, “BOI has consistently aligned its corporate strategy with the strategic objectives of the federal government, especially as it relates to industrialisation and job creation.”
“To that end, on behalf of the federal government, the bank has been a reliable partner in managing several intervention projects and funds aimed at entrepreneurship, economic rehabilitation, and poverty eradication.”
The BoI Tower 2 is a cutting-edge, innovative structure with 12 lettable floors and unique features such as an energy-saving, motion-activated smart lighting system, a backup power system with special panels that are synchronized to deliver power according to demand, and high diesel efficiency.
A building management system, which monitors, supervises, controls, and reports on smart building technology systems, such as generators, CCTVs, and other gadgets, is also installed at the facility.
