As Expert Projects Positive Outlook for Nigerian Economy
By Time Nigeria
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has reaffirmed its commitment to support the Nigerian media industry by empowering its practitioners with the requisite tools and knowledge that promotes the values of professionalism and ethics in the discharge of their duties. This, according to the Bank, is as a result of the critical role the media plays in national development.
FCMB gave the assurance at an interactive and capacity building forum it organized for media executives and correspondents based in Abuja and the Northern Region on February 9, 2018. The forum had a foremost financial and media expert who is also the Chief Executive Officer of RTC Advisory Services Limited and lecturer at the Lagos Business School, Mr. Opeyemi Agbaje, as guest speaker.
In his address at the event, the Group Head, Corporate Affairs of FCMB, Mr. Diran Olojo, explained that it is part of the Bank’s initiatives to further promote excellence, build capacity of media practitioners, spur ideas, deepen relationships and appreciate their contributions over the years to the success of the Bank since its establishment 34 years ago.
According to him, ‘’at FCMB we recognise the strategic importance and role of the media not just in promoting our business, but in the areas of agenda setting, providing solutions and dissemination of quality and balanced communication that drives national unity and development in a sustainable manner. As an institution anchored on the culture of excellence and professionalism, we will continue to champion and execute initiatives that would assist the Nigerian media industry and journalists perform optimally as the fourth estate of the realm and key influencers. We therefore urge our media practitioners to reinvent themselves and expand the frontiers of their knowledge by adopting innovative skills that would help them meet the dynamics of the profession while upholding due diligence and ethics that conform with global best practices’’.
Mr. Olojo told the gathering that as an inclusive lender, FCMB will continue to offer and deliver cutting edge solutions that provide the best customer experience. He added that the Bank is resilient and focused on sustaining the momentum of its position as a top financial institution by supporting initiatives that would enhance the growth and achievement of the personal and business aspirations of its customers as well as the overall prosperity of Nigeria.
In his paper titled, ‘’The Nigerian Economy and Financial Sector in 2018’’, the guest speaker at the media parley, Mr. Agbaje, observed that having overcome the recession in some critical areas, things were looking up for the nation’s economy going by the positive signals shown by several macroeconomic indicators, such as stable exchange rates, growing foreign reserves and inflation.
The former Senior Banker however noted that, “there are a couple of areas of the economy – the non-oil economic sectors that require more passionate attention. They include the manufacturing, employment and the domestic food sectors. In addition, there are also a few fuel subsidy concerns. A lot of cleaning up is going on in the financial sector while portfolios and profitability are improving. From a number of indications, the economy should record incremental improvements in 2018, over 2017. However, the recovery is mainly powered by the oil sector. It is also imperative for our economic system to be skewed towards an investment-led growth strategy to facilitate sustainable development across all sectors’’.
Mr. Agbaje, a one-time Chairman of Convention on Business Integrity, also urged the media to brace up to the challenges of the profession by playing more active roles in not just reporting activities, but serving as a compass to society. He added that it is the responsibility of media practitioners to ensure diligence, ethics, fairness and professionalism in the discharge of their duties in order to promote peace, understanding and progress.
Over the years, FCMB has organised series of initiatives to empower and build the capacity of the media industry. For instance, the Bank in 2016 hosted financial journalists to a parley under the theme ‘’Raising the Bar’’, which had the Chief Executive of Corporate Shepherds Limited, Mr. Idorenyen Enang, as guest speaker. In 2015, it organised a similar capacity building programme for journalists in the new media. Among the guest speakers was an international journalist, Mr. Inigo Gilimore, who spoke on the topic, ‘’Stimulating Responsible New Media Journalism: A Pathway to International Recognition’’.
In addition, FCMB in 2014 brought together media executives to a training programme on, “Sustainable Banking in Nigeria: The Role of the Media”. The session had theManaging Director of UK-based Sustainable Finance Advisory Limited, Carey Bohjanen, as guest speaker.
First City Monument Bank (FCMB) is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments.