As the race for commercial banks’ recapitalisation intensifies and global commerce reels from the ongoing US-China tariff war, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured Nigerians that there is no cause for panic, affirming that the local financial ecosystem remains stable, with banks operating within the required prudential thresholds.
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Dr. Olubukola Akinwumi, Director of the Banking Supervision Department at the apex bank, gave the assurance yesterday in Abuja at the 36th seminar for Finance Correspondents and Business Editors.
According to him, all regulatory guidelines and prudential benchmarks—including those related to non-performing loans—have been met by Nigerian banks, making the sector healthy and resilient.
He further pledged that calculated steps would be taken to keep the economy on a steady growth path, especially towards achieving a $1 trillion GDP economy by 2030.
“The banks are in good health. They are operating within the set templates,” Akinwumi stated.
Earlier in her remarks, Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Ms. Emem Usoro—represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali—reaffirmed the CBN’s commitment to maintaining an open and strong platform for engagement with the media.
In his presentation, the Group Managing Director of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Oliver Alawuba, said that double-digit economic growth of 10 percent is achievable, even as he highlighted the challenges on the path to reaching a $1 trillion GDP by 2030.
“Ten percent growth is achievable if we are intentional. We grew to 3.84% in Q4 2024—the highest since 2021’s 3.46%,” he noted.
He outlined key hurdles such as high inflation, naira depreciation, regulatory constraints, security issues, infrastructure deficits, and limited financial inclusion.
“Security is critical to economic growth. Everything we aim to achieve depends on addressing insecurity,” he said.
“Infrastructure is another major challenge—from poor road networks to unreliable power supply. A client in Tanzania told me he enjoys 24/7 electricity at just 5% of the cost. How can a Nigerian entrepreneur compete with that?”
Alawuba emphasized the need for banks to play a central role in infrastructure funding and called for incentives to support that role.
“Nigerian banks are capable of managing the country’s reserves. We’re already doing this for other African countries. We can use Nigerian money to develop Nigeria. Instead, Nigerians take funds abroad and we end up borrowing them back. This must stop,” he asserted.
He also advocated for the strengthening of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure to address cybersecurity threats.
“There are reports that banks lost N52 billion to cyberattacks. We must confront this challenge through collaboration among stakeholders, to build secure platforms that protect banks and ultimately safeguard depositors’ funds,” he said.
Alawuba concluded by emphasizing the need for strong oversight to ensure that capital is deployed prudently into the real economy.
“According to Afrinvest, banks need N4.1 trillion to meet the new capital requirements. We must work towards this.
“The CBN and banks must jointly educate stakeholders on the policy rationale. This calls for strategic communication,” he added.
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