The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has donated and commissioned a 160- seater hall valued at N30 million to The Polytechnic Ibadan with a resolve to strengthen financial education in the country.
The 160-seater hall which is fully furnished and equipped with ultra-modern facilities would serve as an important tool in the delivery of high-quality education to future bankers.
Speaking at the official commissioning of the CIBN Bankers Hall, a legacy project bequeathed to the institution in Ibadan, President and Chairman of Council of the Institute, Bayo Olugbemi, disclosed that the institute embarked on the legacy project across the six geo-political zones and two other zones (North-East and South-East) which are Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi and Federal Polytechnic, Nekede respectively.
Olugbemi said: “When I became the president of CIBN about two years ago, I have my five-point agenda and one of the cardinal points is membership development and stakeholders’ engagement. Our members included regular and student members. In fulfilment of that promise, we decided to build legacy project which is called CIBN Bankers’ Hall in at least six tertiary institutions in Nigeria, one per geopolitical zone. After an assessment, luckily enough, The Polytechnic, Ibadan came first for the Southwest.
“This building we are commissioning today. Our purpose is to give back to the society and provide a conducive learning environment for the student members. I feel highly elated and excited to address this august gathering on this auspicious occasion. On Monday, October 18, 2021, we gathered at this very spot to perform the groundbreaking ceremony of this beautiful edifice that is being commissioned today.
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Urging the students to use the hall responsibly, so it can serve successive generations stated call on the CIBN Oyo State Branch to facilitate and ensure regular Town and Gown engagements in the auditorium with a view to exposing the students and the entire academic community to contemporary and emerging issues in the world of Banking.
While disclosing to strengthen its membership development and stakeholders’ engagement, Olugbemi said the Institute recently launched a new syllabus for the training of professional bankers saying that the “new syllabus was fortified and enriched with contents that are contemporary and addresses emerging issues in the world of banking and finance.
He added that the Institute as the conscience and moral compass of the banking and finance industry is resolute and committed to the observance and maintenance of ethics and professionalism among practitioners in the industry adding “our word must be our bond, so we can command the respect of the banking populace and ultimately attract the unbanked whilst deepening financial inclusion.
At the commissioning which had in attendance Rector of the Polytechnic, Kazeem Adebiyi, a Professor, top management of the institution, executive members of the institute, top government functionaries, some bank managers, members of NBTE and traditional rulers, the CIBN President revealed that the modern hall donated to the polytechnic is in fulfilment of the promise made in his five-point agenda when he became the president of the professional body.
In his remarks, the Rector of the polytechnic, Kazeem Adebiyi, a professor lauded the entire members and the governing body of the CIBN for the opportunity accorded the institutions for the fully equipped hall with the state of the art facilities.
Adebiyi promised that the institution would put the hall into judicious use.
Earlier in his address, Dean, Faculty of Finance Management Studies, of the Polytechnic, Ibadan, Kolawole Lawal, expressed his appreciation to the chairman and council members of the CIBN for the kind gesture, noting that the edifice donated by the institute is first of its kind.
