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Buhari Commissions Bank of Industry Building

Ololade Omosan-Agie

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday commissioned the second tower of the Bank of Industry building located at the Central Business District in Abuja, with a charge on the bank to take its developmental strides to the next level through more empowerment of businesses in the country.

The BoI Tower 2 is a state-of-the-art innovative building with 12 lettable floors with unique features which include energy conserving smart lighting system that is motion activated, back-up power system with special panels that are synchronized to deliver power according to demand and high diesel efficiency.

The facility is also built with a Building Management System which monitors, supervises, controls and reports on smart building technology systems including generators, CCTVs and other gadgets.

Speaking at the event which was attended by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; the Chairman of BoI, Aliyu Dikko; BoI Managing Direcor, Mr Olukayode Pitan; Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele and other top officials of both the public and private sectors of the economy, Buhari described the contributions of the bank to the industrialization of the Nigerian economy as “significant.”

He commended the management of the bank for its focused leadership in achieving the mandate set by him in diversifying the economy through the provision of single digit interest loans to small, medium and large-scale enterprises.

Specifically, the President said that over N1.4trn has been disbursed by the Bank of Industry to businesses in Nigeria, adding that the impact of this has led to the creation of over nine million jobs for Nigerians.

The President who participated in the commissioning via zoom expressed optimism that with the raising of a €700m Eurobond, the bank would be able to provide more funding for the growth of businesses in Nigeria.

He said, “I’m particularly impressed that this world-class building will finance internally generated revenue of the bank.

“The BoI has continued to successfully execute its mandate as a policy institution of the Federal Government. Through the Bank of Industry, this government extended the single-digit interest rate loans.

“As part of this mandate, the Bank of Industry disbursed over N1.4trn to micro, SMEs, and large enterprises, creating over nine million jobs from its inception.”

The Industry Minister while speaking at the event described the commissioning as another great milestone achieved by the board and management of the bank under President Buhari.

He commended the National Assembly for approving the sovereign guarantee for BoI’s maiden Eurobond transaction of €750m, which was successfully concluded in February this year.

This deal, according to him, represents BoI’s first Eurobond, the provision of Nigeria’s first Eurobond guarantee, as well as the first Euro-denominated Bond transaction from Nigeria, creating a benchmark for other prospective issuers from Africa.

He added that the proceeds have greatly enhanced the capacity of the Bank to fulfil its mandate.

He said, “I am especially delighted that I am witnessing this event as the current Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment. Bank of Industry is one of the 15 agencies that is supervised by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. The institution has added significant value to the Federal Government’s Industrialisation agenda over the past 62 years.

“On behalf of the Bank of Industry, may I also seize this opportunity to thank Mr President and other arms of Government for the consistent confidence they have reposed in this bank by appointing it as the implementation partner of several laudable projects towards alleviating poverty, creating jobs and ensuring affordable financing opportunities for Nigerian enterprises.”

In his remarks at the event, the BoI Chairman said that for decades, the bank has delivered appreciable results on its mandate towards transforming Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing affordable and long-term financing across key segments and sectors of the economy.

Dikko told the gathering that in the last five years alone, working alongside its strategic partners, the bank has supported over 3.2 million Micro, Small, Medium as well as large enterprises, and created over 7.1 million direct and indirect jobs in the process.

He stated further that the bank’s total assets have grown from N683bn in 2016 to N1.7trn in 2021.

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: from Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan, to Economic Recovery and Growth Plan; and now to the newly introduced National Development Plan.

“To that end, the bank has been a reliable partner in managing several intervention projects and funds targeted towards entrepreneurship, economic rehabilitation and poverty eradication on behalf of the Federal Government.

“Our Bank’s success has also attracted the admiration of a number of DFI’s in Africa. Some have visited the Bank to understudy our business operating model.

“We were recently informed by our financial partners that Nigeria’s business model in respect of our Bank’s operations is being closely studied by other African countries for possible adoption.”

In his address of welcome at the event, BoI MD said the bank has raised close to $4bn in the last four years from over 100 international banks/investors in over 20 Countries.

He added that most of the funds end up as part of its foreign reserve, adding that in the next few years, this would be increased to about $10bn.

Pitan who commended the President for renewing his tenure as BoI MD said the bank’s innovative and technology driven platform has been very instrumental to the overwhelming success of the various Federal Government social intervention programs.

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