President Muhammadu Buhari has commended management of the Bank of Industry (BoI) for its focused leadership.
According to Buhari, the bank has continued to align with his commitment to diversify the economy by providing single digit interest loans to small, medium and large-scale enterprises.
The President made the commendation when he commissioned the second tower of the BoI building on Thursday in Abuja.
Buhari said that more than N1.4 trillion had been disbursed by the bank to businesses in Nigeria, adding that the impact of this had led to the creation of over nine million jobs for Nigerians.
The president, who commissioned the building via zoom, expressed optimism that with the raising of a 700 million Eurobond, the bank would be able to provide more funding for the growth of businesses in Nigeria.
“I am particularly impressed that this world-class building will raise Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) 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 more than N1.4 trillion to micro, SMEs, and large enterprises, creating more than nine million jobs from its inception.”
He urged the bank to take its developmental strides to the next level by empowering more businesses in the country.
Also speaking, Otuba Adeniyi Adebayo, the minister of Industry, Trade and Investment said that the institution had added significant value to the Federal Government’s industrialisation agenda over the past 62 years.
“On behalf of the BoI, may I 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
” The projects are aimed at alleviating poverty, creating jobs and ensuring affordable financing opportunities for Nigerian enterprises.
“I also appreciate the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and our distinguished legislators at the National Assembly for approving the sovereign guarantee for BOI’s maiden Eurobond transaction of 750 million, which was successfully concluded in February.
“This deal 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.
“The proceeds have greatly enhanced the capacity of the bank to fulfil its mandate, ” he said.
Adebayo commended Buhari for his to commission the edifice, considering his very busy schedule
Aliyu Dikko, the Chairman of BoI said that for decades, the bank had delivered appreciable results on its mandate toward transforming Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing affordable and long-term financing across key segments and sectors of the economy.
He said that in the last five years alone, working alongside its strategic partners, the bank had supported more than 3.2 million Micro, Small, Medium as well as Large enterprises.
According to him, the bank has also created more than 7.1 million direct and indirect jobs in the process.
He also said that the e-Bank’s total assets had grown from N683 billion in 2016 to N1.7 trillion in 2021.
According to the chairman, 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 toward entrepreneurship, economic rehabilitation and poverty eradication on behalf of the Federal Government.
“At this point, I must sincerely acknowledge the immense support of Buhari, the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning,
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“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Senate and Members of the House of Representatives for the unflinching support we have continued to receive as we strive to achieve our mandate.
“A fundamental support is the provision of credit enhancements to our international debt capital transactions of close to four billion dollars in the past few years. We are very grateful.
“The maiden Euro 750 million Eurobond that was just concluded which His Excellency graciously approved is a major achievement for which we are all proud of.
Mr Olukayode Pitan, the Managing Director of BoI, said that the phase 2 building just commissioned was financed from the bank’s IGR, adding that the new project was completed in October 2021 with significant cost savings.
According to him, the completed project represents a key milestone in its vision to become Africa’s leading Development Finance Institution operating under global best practices.
He said that the bank raised about four billion dollars in the last four years from over 100 international banks/investors in over 20 Countries.
According to him, most of the funds ended up as part of its foreign reserve, and in the next few years, BoI can increase the figure to about 10 billion dollars.
” There is no doubt that under Mr President”s leadership, BoI has become a strategic National Institution that should be preserved and supported for the benefit of all stakeholders in our country.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the BoI Tower 2 is a state-of-the-art innovative building with 12 lettable floors with unique features.
The features include energy conserving smart lighting system that is motion activated, back-up power system with special panels that are synchronised to deliver power according to demand and high diesel efficiency.
(NAN)
