Omololu Ogunmade
President Muhammadu Buhari Saturday congratulated former Acting Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BOI) Limited, Dr. Waheed Olagunju, who turns 60 Sunday.
Buhari conveyed his message in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, congratulating him for always making himself available for service to the nation and humanity.
The president, also celebrated with all family members, friends and associates of Olagunju, noting that Olagunju’s service to the nation “is centrally motivated by his fear of God and sense of patriotism.”
Buhari commended him for playing a significant role in supporting the vision of diversifying the Nigerian economy through innovative and actionable ideas that translated into growth of more Small and Medium Enterprises across the country.
As Olagunju turns 60, Buhari prayed that the almighty God would grant him long life, good health and strength to continue serving the country.
Olagunju, currently Executive Director of Small and Medium Enterprises, joined the Bank of Industry’s precursor institution the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) in 1990 as a Senior Manager.
Born April 7, 1959, Olagunju rose to the position of Executive Director (Business Development) in 2012 during which he had responsibilities for Strategic Planning, New Business Development, External & Intergovernmental Relations, Legal Services, Corporate Secretariat and Corporate Communications.
He acted as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer between April and May 2014. He was subsequently reassigned as Executive Director, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in August 2014.
Under his leadership of the SME Directorate, the bank’s annual lending to SMEs rose phenomenally to N5.6 billion in 2015 which represented 205 percent increase over the average annual lending of N1.8 billion to SMEs in previous years.
