The Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has commended the Federal Government as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for their concerted reforms toward reflating the economy. According to Elumelu, recent initiatives of the Federal Government are restoring investor confidence and stimulating productive activities, needed for economic recovery.

Speaking during 55th Annual General Meeting of the United Bank for Africa Plc, Elumelu  said, “I would like to commend the Federal Government of Nigeria and President Buhari on the recent launch of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan. It is laudable that the government widely consulted with the private sector in putting together this economic plan, which I believe should help address the immediate critical need of the Nigerian economy. As a stakeholder in Nigeria, I enjoin everyone to support these lofty agenda, which hopefully should see the economy return to its deserved high growth path. No doubt, the fundamentals of the economy remains strong and we all must work with the government to harness the potentials, not only for today but also for the benefit of our future generations.”

Elumelu added that the CBN should be applauded, especially for its exchange rate management. “More importantly, recent policy actions of CBN are particularly impressive, as we have seen notable increase in foreign currency supplies and the spread between the interbank market and parallel market exchange rates have moderated. We must commend our policy makers and encourage them to do even more.”

Speaking on the impressive results of the UBA group, its Chairman praised the staff and Management saying; “on behalf of the shareholders, I appreciate the commitment and enterprise of our staff and commend the management for the exceptional leadership, which resulted into the sterling performance of the bank amidst the challenging operating environment in 2016.” He also emphasised the proactive diversification of UBA Group across the African continent, noting that the subsidiaries outside of Nigeria contributed a third of the Group’s profit in 2016, thus reflecting the benefit of the Bank’s geographic diversification. 

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Addressing the shareholders at the AGM, he said: ìI want you to know that by investing in UBA, you have diversified your portfolio, you have not just invested in a Nigerian bank, but have invested in a bank with diversified reach, given our operations in Nigeria and 18 other African countries.î

ìLast year we had a leadership change. Following the retirement of the former Group Managing Director, a new CEO, Kennedy Uzoka was appointed, which we are formally introducing today. I am pleased to report that Kennedy and his team have been doing an excellent job, as it evident in the 2016 results; a strong 32% growth in profit before tax to N91 billion.  At the Board level, we are extremely impressed by the financial performance. I therefore implore every shareholder to remain steadfast and confident in our great institution, as the Management remains committed to delivering superior and sustainable returns to us shareholders. So I say well done to Kennedy and his team.î

On his part, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka said: ìAs we further our Customer First Philosophy, we are approaching 2017 with stronger optimism, especially with the outlook remaining positive in most of our markets. We are not unaware of the macro economic challenges, competition and constantly changing customer preferences. Rather, we believe we are well equipped to win in the market. We will further sweat our unique Pan- African platform to improve productivity, extract efficiency gains and grow our share of customersí wallet across all business lines and markets. We will build on our strong governance culture, zero-tolerance for infractions and transparency in furthering our frontiers of leadership in the African market.