A 10-member board of the Bank of Industry (BoI) has been inaugurated by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, which a charge to lift the bank to greater heights.
The members include Aliyu AbdulRahman Dikko as Chairman; Olukayode Pitan, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer; Waheed Olagunju, Executive Director (SME); Mrs Toyin Adeniji, Executive Director (Micro –Enterprises); and Jonathan Tabin, Executive Director (Corporate Services& Communication).
Others are Chukwuemeka Nzewi, member, National Council, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria; Dr, Bakari Wadingo, Director (Revenue & Investment/MOFI); Femi Edun, Special Assistant to Enelama; and Dr Mudashiru Olaitan, Director (Development Finance Department), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Inaugurating the Board on Tuesday in Abuja, Enelama said the appointments are a call to National Service.
He tasked the board to partner with stakeholders to be able to further raise the standard of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across Nigeria, while building the necessary capacities for future entrepreneurs in Nigeria, in line with the ideals of the present administration.
Responding, the Board Chairman, Dikko, who expressed gratitude to the minister, said it is a new beginning for the bank. ‘’We will take this as a national assignment, we will touch all aspects of the economy, we shall partner with relevant stakeholders to add value to the growth of small scale businesses.”
Also, in a vote of thanks, Pitan said the bank has concluded arrangements to raise N3 trillion in the next 12 months to further support the MSMEs while working with the CBN as the major partner.
‘Our concern, for now, is to explore four major economic zones in Calabar, Kano, Nnewi, and Akwa-Ibom.