Ugo Aliogo
First Bank of Nigeria Plc has noted that recreating wealth for the unbanked and improving their standards of living would continue to be its major focus while leveraging digital offerings to drive financial inclusion.
The Managing Director, First Bank Nigeria Plc, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, stated this during the commissioning of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) situated at Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos at the weekend.
He expressed excitement at the birthing of the project while adding that ICAN is widely acclaimed for supporting national capacity building and economic self-reliance by raising and training astute accounting professionals working tall within and outside the borders of this country.
Adeduntan, who was represented by the bank’s Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Iyamabo, said that First Bank, being a foremost financial institution on the continent is an ardent proponent of raising and nurturing professionals across all fields, especially in accounting, which is at the center of business anywhere.
According to him, “For over 128 years of First bank’s continuous unbroken operations, many more economic cycles, industry transformations whilst reinventing itself many more times than any financial institution on the continent.”
Earlier in her keynote address, the President of ICAN, Comfort Eyitayo, while commending First Bank for the joint collaboration of the project, said the EDC is a conscious and deliberate effort to drastically reduce the number of unemployed accountants and other participating public.
“The ICAN EDC is envisioned to provide practical and world class capacity building programs in the areas of professional practice and fintech with a potential of expansion into production activities,” Eyitayo said.
