Posts in category: by The Telescope Magazine

Sijibomi Ogundele, founder, Sujimoto Group of Companies and Chief Executive Officer of Sujimoto Construction, is a great man with a big vision and strong “can-do” spirit.. He portrays a man of high moral standing and has been weaving his path to success through honesty, hard work, dedication and commitment.

Naturally, people with a vision make best leaders because of their ability to foresee problem, calculate risks, offer contingencies, seizing opportunities with precision and timing, unique analytical abilities and can turn management into science with emphasis on high moral standards and integrity.

There’s no question that Sujibomi inherits this kind of world. And now he is making his skills and influence felt in the Nigerian real estate landscape, where he has been distilling much solution.  Of course, in doing so, he faced a housing industry, laced with problem quite large, but with opportunity as well. With the ingenuity and astuteness of a financial engineer, he entered the real estate industry and began to turn the situation around with some ease.

He is one of those who have kept the Nigerian economic and social landscape ablaze, thanks to the exceptional practice of their art and profession together with their many years of dedicated service. These are the shakers and movers on the economic scene who have become, eventually, icons of  the Nigerian business landscape.

Ogundele is one of the shakers of the real estate industry in Nigeria today. He is one of the business men people have the joy of watching as a role model to young people and entrepreneurs. His illustrious career is blessed with integrity and acclaim. For about decade now, he has been true to dignity and character with elegant truth and amazing emotional range.

His company handles the construction of Povidus Bank Abeokuta Branch Project, which is elegance on display. Hear Mr Ogundele’s comment on this: “The project, a 21st century banking hall that will change the skyline of Abeokuta and influence the narrative for Architectural design in the banking industry forever. Thanks to Providus Bank for believing in Sujimoto and giving us an opportunity to do what we love to do best.”
Regarded as a visionary like no other, Sujimoto created experimental, brave, insightful business paths which young people need to emulate today. His personality gems helped spur the development of his business lines.

Ogundele started his career in risk assessment in 2004, where he moved up to lending in SMEs and set up Moto Finance in Paris, which later branched out in Accra, Dubai, Madrid and New York City; achieving significant industry milestones, later moving into the Nigerian Real Estate industry; additionally into Risk Assessment and Project Management.

He describes his vision as ‘simple’, which is to revolutionise the African luxury Real Estate industry with Nigeria as a starting point. With the success of his company’s pioneer project in Nigeria called Medici, high demand for Sujimoto’s project in Ikoyi “LorenzoBySujimoto” is highly welcomed by investors and high net-worth individuals.

Inspired by the Ritz Styled Hotel & Apartment, LorenzoBySujimoto is an unveiling of world-class hospitality bringing a redefinition in high-value residential structures, comprising of 2, 3 & 4 bedrooms, a fascinating addition of penthouses with private swimming pools.

Sijibomi is very unapologetic about his opinions that the Nigerian Luxury Real Estate industry has not achieved five percent of its true potential. This inspired his vision to set up his company called Sujimoto Construction Ltd, which has achieved impressive strides within a few years of operations and gained recognition for being one of the most dynamic luxury real estates and construction companies in Nigeria.

We rarely come across a Nigerian business man who masterfully portrays a wide range of roles in different walks of life , and is an accomplished real estate business leader at that. With a stellar career that spanned some years in Finance, siji, popularly known as Sujimoto, is quite amazing.

He is hailed as among Nigeria’s best for being a man of dignity, a business leader whose business success and life are simply exemplary.

Sijibomi has touched our hearts and changed lives with his performances in business as well as with the messages ingrained in their personal conduct. He believes in the principle of giving back to society and empowering the people as exhibited in various social responsibility efforts setting him apart from his peers. The undisputed integrity champion, who brought countless laughter to numerous people and is held in awe by different generations of Nigerians.

Youth as Icons

Apart from being empowering to many, Ogundele believes that one of the greatest assets of Nigeria,as a nation,  is in its young people. Having been to different universities, to different schools and spoken with these young people, he knows them much. According to him, there’s a hunger for innovation in them.

“What we lack as a nation is not in creativity. What we lack as a nation is more in leadership, not only political, but community and family based leadership, or someone to push the youths and provide opportunities in different sectors.

“Nations like America, China, and other places have identified that their true asset is in their young people. They have created systems that will support people in education, health care, entrepreneurship, and infrastructure.”

To make young people realize their potential, he charges them to have as their driving force, the knowledge that there is no nobility in poverty. According to him, some critical and internal decisions must be taken to achieve success in Nigeria and not to live with a sense of entitlement but to go all out to grab the ever available opportunities.

“I want our young people to know that ‘Success is not served a la carte. It’s a buffet! You have to go for it!’ Youths should bury any sense of entitlement. The likes of Linda Ikeji, Davido have worked hard and are ripping the reward for their dedication.

“Our youths must know that there is no nobility in poverty; to achieve success today in Nigeria, you must be ready to lose friends, be misunderstood, and be unreasonable in your visions. Nigerians have stopped following leaders who are ‘complaining and murmuring’ leaders.

“Young people must learn to reject the ordinary and risk the unusual. We need to know that Nigeria is a land of opportunities; find these opportunities. The likes of MKO, Ojukwu, Mai Deribe, and others started from their youth days. So, as young people, we have to prepare a  ‘don’t do list,’ as much as you prepare a to-do list.”

With these lessons from the   Sujimoto boss and his story, Mr Ogundele has shown us wondrous world of possibilities through personal conduct, industry and discipline, and we are fortunate to have been witnesses to his illustrious careers.

Youth will need to reflect on people like Sijibomi Ogundele and the eventful paths that brought him to this state, how he has blazed the trail that many are gainfully treading on. Today, he has shown us that industry has strength, dignity, and promise because of people who have risen above and beyond their artistry to make success from it.

Life insurance policy is essential for any working adult above 40 years. Of course, a lot of people tend to ignore it, its importance cannot be overstretched. But generally, Nigerians have a passive attitude towards life insurance, especially among the masses. Also within the lower middle class, many are not even interested in insurance and its stories beyond motor insurance.

However, there are some essential things a working adult must do in life. Life insurance is one of those things— and many people don’t learn how important it is until it’s too late.

This is because anything can happen as we go about, running around to put food on the table for our families. Accidents can happen. Death also does not write letters to people that it is coming. So getting a life insurance policy is a great protection for our dependents if anything unexpected happens.
Of course, for most people, death is a passing thought. This is especially true when people are young and in top form and feel great… Everyone thinks they are going to live long and prosperous lives. And hopefully, that will indeed be the case.
However, you know that it doesn’t take much for your life to take a sharp turn for the worse. If you are unprepared, you risk dragging your entire family into a difficult financial situation.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. That’s why life insurance can play a crucial part in helping to secure your family’s financial future.
With enough coverage, you are securing a comfortable financial future for your loved ones, even without you being around. They will be able to get back on their feet much sooner and continue getting on with living their lives.
The death of a loved one can strike when you least expect it. And it only sounds cliché until it happens to someone. Daily events in different parts of Nigeria highlight the seriousness of the issue of life insurance policy. And a general awareness of it is needed to turn the Unpredictable into the Predictable
As you know, nature works in mysterious ways. Yes, the chances are low that any of the above would happen to you, but it should still make you wonder how long you have left here on earth.
In Nigeria, just as in some other parts of the West African sub-region, people travel a lot, often for business. Barring accident, the odds are that you will be living a long life. But if you want to be sure that your loved ones will have a degree of financial security if the worst were to happen to you, you shouldn’t think twice about seriously considering your life insurance needs.
With a good life insurance policy and the right amount of cover, you can relax and enjoy every day as it comes in terms of knowing that your loved one’s financial future is provided for. And no accident, no lightning bolt, heart attack, or falling cow could take that away.
A reflection on issues that bother on daily security and safety may help you understand more about the importance of getting the right policy. Remember, it is for your loved ones that you’re taking out a life insurance policy.
But that doesn’t mean we know all the right things to do when it comes to getting a policy. According to a nationwide study conducted by a Lagos-based insurance company early this year in bothe Lagos and Abuja.
Over two-third of respondents who had life insurance policy didn’t know what kind of policy they had. And though 70% felt confident that their insurance companies would pay out if the need arose, only 34% felt sure that they would know how to collect a payout.
Do you fall into this confused category? If so, it’s crucial to educate yourself about life insurance, especially if you have people who depend on you (like kids), or have a mortgage or significant amount of debt to pay.
Life insurance, and how it could have—or does—make all the difference is essential to our having some confidence about securing the future for our dependants.

Zeetin Engineering, an engineering company, is setting up a multi-billion naira factory in Idu Industrial area of the federal capital territory (FCT) to produce electric cars.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday, Robert Azibaola, promoter of the company, said he has invested about N3.5 billion in setting up the place.

Azibaola said, so far, he has not borrowed money from the bank, adding that he is desirous to receive bank facilities that would assist him to accelerate the completion of the factory.

He said the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Nigeria Export-Import (NEXIM) Bank have expressed their readiness to furnish Zeetin Engineering with a loan facility of N2.5 billion each.
“As a visioner, this is my vision and it is to make Nigeria great,” he said.

“Except we get our act together, the black race globally will not have a proper footing in spite of their inventions in the western countries. This is my personal contribution towards making Nigeria a great country.

“Zeetin focuses on all types of metal works of high-end engineering. It has acquired and installed the most sophisticated production machines (CNCs, Plasmas, 5Axis Milling, Lathes, etc) in the metal works industry in Nigeria.
“With its capacity, Zeetin will be functioning as an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for Nigeria and will be churning out full-scale industrial product for the Automotive, Aeronautic, Aviation, Railways, Marine, Agricultural sectors, etc.

“The lack of OEMs in the country has been a great hindrance to the growth and development of manufacturing and assembling companies. Manufacturers in Nigeria usually resort to importation of all their spares amidst scarce foreign exchange and lead time.

“When fully operational, most Nigerian businesses in need of specialised spare-parts will get from Zeetin direct and would not be waiting for importation from abroad. Thus, Zeetin Engineering shall be bridging a vital gap.

“Zeetin has array of machines that are for the manufacture of other machines, spares and equipment.

“This is why Zeetin is leading the way to become Nigeria’s proudly OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) at full-scale industrial levels for Nigeria.”

The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris FCNA has called on managers of the country’s economy, economic experts and critical stakeholders in the country’s economy to come up with strategies and practices that could be deployed in the effective management of inevitable financial challenges such as that caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Idris made the call at a two-day National Treasury Workshop, in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State with the theme, “COVID-19 and the global economy, implications on the Nigerian national treasury”.

The workshop was meant to provide a forum for economic experts, officials of the Federal and State Governments, academia, and the private sector to brainstorm and come up with effective strategies for managing national economies in the face of pandemics and other global disasters.

The Accountant General of the Federation maintained that the reality of the pains inflicted on the Nigerian economy and the national treasury by the COVID-19 pandemic has made it overtly imperative to fashion out ways to effectively manage the economy during pandemics and handle any pandemic-induced financial challenges.

He tasked the economic experts and government officials to come up with viable ideas that will, among other things, help the country withstand financial shock caused by any pandemic and also help control aggregate cash flows within fiscal, monetary and legal limits to improve the management of critical government borrowings.

Furthermore, he said ideas should be evolved that will help establish and sustain the consciousness of and accountability for public expenditure, efficient budget execution and resource allocation as well as effective public service delivery that accords value for money at all times.

In his address at the Workshop, the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba noted that the dwindling revenue profile of the country and the attendant challenges on the cash flow occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic called for prudent management of available resources and evolution of better, more effective and robust administrative mechanisms to resolve the revenue challenges.

He made known that in an effort to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, prevent potentially deep recession and accelerate quick recovery of the economy, the Federal Government had developed three broad strategies namely, provision of economic stimulus packages, mobilization of external support/funding and increased the Non-Oil revenue generation.

He said as a result of these measures adopted by the government, health and economic data have continued to be on a positive trajectory despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also speaking, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel commended the initiative of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation in organising a workshop to look into ways and means of repositioning the Nigerian economy in a post-COVID-19 era.

He expressed optimism that the workshop will come up with ideas and approaches to stimulate and grow the Nigerian economy in a new world put forth by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Accountant General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris FCNA, was one of the personalities that were recently presented with Awards of Honour by the Abuja FCT 1 Branch of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).

The Award presentation was part of the 2021 International Accountants’ Day Celebration by the Abuja FCT 1Branch of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).

Idris was presented with an Award of Honour for accountable leadership. Other Awardees were honoured for excellence in leadership and humanitarian service, diligence in the line of duty, consistency of purpose in service, entrepreneurship and leadership.

In conferring the Award, the Abuja FCT 1Branch of ANAN noted that the Accountant General of the Federation has promoted transparency, accountability, and probity in the management of public funds through the dogged implementation of the financial management reforms anchored by the Treasury.

In a goodwill message at the occasion, the Accountant General of the Federation, who is also a member of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), congratulated the Abuja FCT 1 Branch of ANAN for the successful hosting of the 2021 International Accountants’ Day Celebration and other achievements the Chapter has recorded. The AGF was represented by the OAGF Director of Finance and Accounts Mr Lucky Nwagwu.

He noted that the theme of the celebration, “Accountable Leadership in the 21st Century”, was apt as the country needs leaders with high level of integrity, foresight and professionalism to drive positive change.

Environmental – As part of its commitment to environmental protection, Rite Foods Limited, a world-class proudly Nigerian Foods and Beverages Company, has sponsored the cleanup of the Alpha beach, in Lekki, Lagos, where 1,640kg and 127.2kg of solid and recyclable waste respectively, were cleared, as part of efforts at preserving the environment and in support of the Lagos State Government cleaner-Lagos initiative.

The clean-up exercise which was in collaboration with the Sterling One Foundation and Giving Beach Clean-up took place on March 27, 2021.

Staff members of Rites Foods Limited were joined by 116 volunteers and locals in the community to pick up and remove plastics, solid waste and other unwanted materials from the beach.

The solid waste recovered totalled 1,640kg, while polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recyclables weighed 119 kg, carton 3.0kg, nylon1.0kg and returnable glass bottle 4.2kg.

The cleanup was part of the company’s contribution to a cleaner environment and the preservation of one of Lagos beaches known as Alpha beach, which serves as a tourist location in Lagos State, where fun seekers go to for relaxation, picnics, parties and other forms of social engagements.

He stated that the project is to ensure that the solid and packaging wastes do not end up in the ocean from the beach, thereby constituting hazards to aquatic lives   and for people that make use of the ocean for other activities.

According to him, the recyclable waste can be turned into other useful products and helps create more jobs and also keep the environment clean.

“Food and beverage packaging waste like the PET bottles end up in the wrong places, in our beaches, oceans and waterways or litter the communities where we work and live. We have a responsibility to protect the environment hence we have gathered today to clear all sorts of waste from the beach,” he stated.

“Keeping the environment clean should be the concern of all its citizens, and this will rid the society of certain diseases associated with dirty environment,” Adegunwa added.

The company’s effort was commended by Sterling One Foundation, the Giving Beach Cleanup team and Alpha beach community patrons.

Established in 2007, Rite Foods Limited set the pace with the commencement of the production of the high quality family preferred Bigi soft drinks, Fearless Energy Drink and today’s market-leading brand of Rite Sausages.

The Rite Foods products line currently includes theBigi Cola, Bigi Cherry Cola, Bigi Ginger Ale, Bigi Orange, Bigi Apple, Bigi Bitter Lemon, Bigi Soda Water, Bigi Lemon & Lime, Bigi Tropical, Bigi Chapman, Bigi Ginger Lemon, Bigi Tamarind, Fearless Redberry Energy Drink, Fearless Classic Energy Drink, Rite Spicy, Bigi Beef Sausage roll and Rite Sausage roll.

Rite Foods’ disruptive innovation introduced into the energy drinks segment, the first polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaged energy drinks, comprising the Fearless Red Berry and the Fearless Classic.

Rite Foods is perhaps the fastest-growing Foods and Beverages Company in West Africa, with the ambition of becoming Africa’s number one foods and beverages conglomerate by the year 2030.

The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Education Mr. Tokunbo Wahab has felicitated with Christians across the globe on this year celebration of Easter.

He said Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the third day after crucification. Easter is the fulfilled prophecy of the Messiah who would be persecuted, die for our sins, and rise on the third day. (Isaiah 53) stated remembering the resurrection of Jesus is a way to renew daily hope that we have victory over sin.

In a Facebook post by Mr. Tokunbo Wahab to all the Christian faithfuls, “He Has Risen! May Jesus remove all obstacles from your life. May his resurrection bring all the goodness for and your family.”

Tokunbo is a strong advocate of equity and justice and a passionate believer in the dictum that everyone deserves equal opportunities regardless of class or strata and he as contributed to the growth of Lagos State government on education by providing adequate facilities for school across the Lagos.

A member of the House of Representatives from Iseyin/Itesiwaju/Kajola/Iwajowa Federal Constituency Oyo State, Hon. Shina Peller, has felicitated Christians home and abroad on the occasion of 2021 Easter celebration.

Hon. Peller’s felicitating message was contained in an official statement issued by his media office and signed by Kola Popoola, his Press Secretary, where the federal legislator enjoined all to spread goodness, love, peace and happiness.

The statement read:

“Hon. Shina Peller identifies and rejoices with all Christians on the occasion of 2021 Easter celebration.

“Easter celebration should be an opportunity for us all, not just Christians, to reflect deeply on the life and death of Jesus Christ with a view to emulating his good virtue, humility, selflessness and sacrificial acts to humanity.

“Importantly, let us remember that throughout his lifetime, Jesus Christ preached peaceful coexistence, forgiveness, humility, kindness, charity, tolerance, patience and love for one another. These are good virtues that we should endeavour to emulate for our society to be better.

“So as we celebrate this year’s Easter, Hon. Peller enjoins us all to spread love, not hatred; preach peace, not violence; scatter seeds of kindness and happiness, not sadness, everywhere around us and watch them grow daily. Let’s be tolerant of one another and we’ll make headway in our ways and dealings.

“Once again, Hon. Peller wishes everyone a Happy Easter celebration

United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) has carved a niche for itself and continues to stand out as the leading Pan-African financial institution, consistent in introducing numerous first rate innovative products with customer satisfaction in mind. To this end, the bank has invested significantly in cutting edge technology in a bid to boost its overall services to customers. The development is a further demonstration of the bank’s unalloyed commitment to ensuring premium services as well as reaffirming its dominance across Africa.

In a bid to reinforce its commitment to first-rate experience, the lender introduced Leo the Chat Banker in 2018 and did not rest on its oars as it innovated with more firsts launching on facebook, in 2019 and on WhatsApp, following which it created Leo Apple Business Chat’ for Ios on iPhone and iPad. A feat its peers are yet to replicate, even though some banks like Diamond Bank now merged with Access Bank tried with Ada and StanbicIBTC Bank’ Sami. First Bank and GT Bank also launched on WhatsApp. They were all unable to replicate the success story of UBA’s Leo.

Recently, UBA has again raised the bar, with another first of its kind, that is currently setting the pace in the digital banking space. The New UBA mobile App, launched in March is a one stop shop for all banking transactions like never seen before on the African continent and is already a massive success with customers who have embraced the app wholeheartedly with more than 200,000 downloads since its launch in March. A testament to the excellent unique offerings imbued in the new mobile app.

The new app, which is a total upgrade from the former app, has new features including four amazing themes and a more amazing graphical interface, just as it has another never-been-seen before feature where it blurs your account balance when you cover your phone’s censor.

Armed with benefits and features designed to give its customers increased control and accessibility to carry out transactions with ease, UBA Digital Banking Group Head, Kayode Ishola, said the app has been tailor-made to give customers what they want, how and in the way they want it. He made this disclosure during a recent virtual press parlay with both local and international media, adding that a lot of investment in cutting edge technology and attention to details was put into the new mobile app.

According to him, the new UBA Mobile App is “your personal finance manager built with a distinctive user interface that will change the face of banking. “With this app, we are reimagining banking as our engagement has moved from being channel-based to being platform-based.

“The speed of the platform has been made to match the speed of light as we have cut down significantly on the number of processes expected to carry out your transactions. Interestingly, we have worked towards creating behavioural insight for our customers and working around this to address the real needs of our customers using the Omni channel platform and running on our open digital platform, which is very interactive and armed with lifestyle services. It is sleek and trendy with seamless user interface”, he added.

On the security features of the app, UBA’s Group Chief Information Officer, Onyebuchi Akosa, said the new platform will revolutionise the way banking services are offered as it will deliver increased personalised banking via a watertight and highly-effective security system.

Head, UBA SME Banking, Sampson Aneke, on his part noted that the app has been created with a high-level of intelligence because it can work based on frequent transactions.

He added that “it can also speak to the specific country where it is being used as the new mobile app runs concurrently in the 20 countries of UBA’s operation interacting in the different languages and cultures in line with the specific needs and regulation of the country in focus. This all-encompassing platform which boasts of a new user interface because of its sleek, modern nature of delivering seamless experience across several devices; can be used as a budgeting tool, loan application and also allows customers view their expenses according to their various categories such as the amount spent on data within a particular period.”

Beyond lip service, the bank, which is known for its culture of excellent service, has continuously innovated all of its business segments, whilst delivering top-notch operational efficiencies and best-in-class customer service. Over the years, the reward for creating such superior value has come in form of customer satisfaction and numerous local and international awards, thus consolidating their leadership position in Africa. For the bank, those awards are evidence of the diligent execution of its strategic initiatives geared towards customer service fulfillment.

Social Impact

Beyond the multiple zeros that are the underlying goal of every financial institution, UBA is also big on social impacts and customer satisfaction, the latter being a requisite for a rewarding year for the bank. Through its UBA Foundation, its CSR arm that is committed to being a socially responsible company and role model for all businesses in Africa, the foundation is committed to the socio-economic betterment of the communities in which the bank operates, focusing on development in the areas of education, environment, economic empowerment and special projects. The UBA Foundation was incorporated in January 2004.

The bank performs all these social functions while maintaining a sound pedigree as an institution that helps millions across the continent meet their financial goals. In fact, as one of the oldest surviving financial institutions in Nigeria, UBA holds a distinctive position as a general wealth distributor, which makes its financial performance more profound and impactful.

With about 274,000 shareholders, about 72 per cent holding between one and 10,000 ordinary shares, UBA has the most diversified shareholders’ base. It is also one of the most actively traded stocks at the Nigerian stock market, and a major influence in the traditionally most active banking sector. A total of 6.95 billion ordinary shares of UBA were traded at the stock market in 2020 while the bank’s share price rose by 21 per cent, more than a double of average return of 10.1 per cent recorded by the NSE Banking Index.

With more than 21 million customers and 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries, UBA is a systemically important, tier one financial institution. Despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group remained a major developmental partner for its host communities, environment and economy as it donated N5.10 billion to various corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives during the year, through its foundation.

Despite the challenges the year brought including the COVID-19 pandemic, the bank’s performance stood out- while the deposit base increased by 48.1 percent, the bank’s profit before tax rose to N131.9 billion compared with N111.3 billion in 2019; profit after tax rose by 27.7 per cent to N113.8 billion compared with N89.1 billion in 2019 and earnings per share thus rose by 26.8 per cent from N2.52 in 2019 to N3.20 in 2020.

A further breakdown showed that the total assets last year leapt two spaces to N7.70 trillions from N5.62 trillion in 2019, about 37 per cent increase. The balance sheet performance is reflective of the overall performance outlook for the pan-African banking group. Market pundits are placing a “buy” note on UBA on the heels of the 2020 performance. UBA has the highest upside potential among the five stocks recommended by Cowry Asset Management Limited as the stock market reopened.

The 12-month report showed that gross earnings rose by 10.8 per cent to N620.4 billion in 2020 compared with N559.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019. The overall top-line performance was driven by growths across the income lines. Interest incomes had grown from N404.83 billion in 2019 to N427.86 billion in 2020.

Net interest income stood at N259.47 billion in 2020 as against N221.88 billion in 2019, fees and commission incomes also rose from N110.56 billion in in 2019 to N126.94 billion in 2020 while net trading and foreign exchange income increased from N37.63 billion to N59.45 billion. Further segmented analysis showed the continuing growth and profitability of the group’s non-Nigerian subsidiaries, providing diversification that helped to cushion and insulate the group from market fluctuation.

Meanwhile, the “Rest of Africa”-other African subsidiaries excluding the main Nigerian market, saw turnover growth from N166.27 billion in 2019 to N232.06 billion in 2020, repeating the same trend in pre-tax profit, which rose from N52.15 billion to N75.12 billion. The group also recorded increased incomes and profit across its business lines with corporate banking, retail and commercial banking and treasury and financial markets recording N201.02 billion, N214.39 billion and N204.96 billion respectively in 2020 as against N181.4 billion, N193.46 billion and N184.95 billion respectively in 2019.

The businesses also sustained improved profit. Corporate banking netted N62.32 billion in 2020 as against N47.9 billion in 2019. Retail and commercial banking recorded net profit of N30.23 billion as against N24.36 billion while net profit on treasury and financial marker dealings improved from N16.23 billion in 2019 to N21.22 billion in 2020.

On the cost side, operating expenses grew by 10.1 per cent to N249.8 billion, as against N217.2 billion in 2019, well below average inflation rate of 13.2 per cent for the year, thus reflecting the bank’s cost effectiveness. Despite the challenging business environment during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant effect on economies globally, the bank’s profit before tax rose to N131.9 billion compared with N111.3 billion in 2019. Profit after tax rose by 27.7 per cent to N113.8 billion compared with N89.1 billion in 2019. Earnings per share thus rose by 26.8 per cent from N2.52 in 2019 to N3.20 in 2020.

Management Outlook

Re-echoing the stance of analysts on the strong performance of the bank despite the global pandemic, UBA Group Managing Director, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka said last year was important for the UBA Group, as it gained further market share in most of its countries of operation.

According to him, the bank ended a very challenging year on a reassuring note as shown by double-digit growth in both top and bottom lines. Despite the tumultuous impact of the pandemic globally and across UBA’s 23 countries of operation, the group created N519 billion additional loans as it continued to support customers and their businesses.

He outlined that customer deposits grew 48.1 per cent to N5.7 trillion, driven primarily by additional N1.8 trillion in retail deposits, assuring that as a global bank, UBA remains well capitalised and determined to successfully drive financial inclusion on the continent through innovative products and vast network.

He pointed out that the bank’s capital adequacy and liquidity ratios came in at 22.4 per cent and 44.3 per cent were well above the respective regulatory minimum of 15.0 per cent and 30 per cent.

“Our primary strategy will continue to focus on providing excellent services from our customers’ standpoint, putting the customer first always. Looking ahead, I am inspired by the achievements we have made since the launch of our transformation programme. We have expanded market share considerably across the geographies where we operate and are consolidating our digital banking leadership in Africa. We will continue to leverage our diversified business model and dedicated workforce to further strengthen our position as ‘Africa’s Global Bank,” Uzoka said.

Group Chief Financial Official, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Ugo Nwaghodoh said the persistent low interest rate environment in 2020 exerted significant downward pressure on margins, notwithstanding, the bank’s interest income for the year grew by 5.7 per cent to N427.9 billion, driven by 8.2 per cent and 7.5 per cent year-on-year growth on interest income on loans and investment securities respectively.

Essentially, the 2020 performance no doubt shows the resilience of the uniquely diversified operating model of the UBA, and brings to bear the gains from continuing investments in its pan-African outlook. Analysts are optimistic the group will sustain its growth trajectory, given expected improvements in national and global environments in 2021.