The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) said it would continue to strengthen Banking and Finance education in the country.
Dr Bayo Olugbemi, the CIBN President and Chairman said this during the ground breaking ceremony of a 160-seater lecture theater at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers.
Olugbemi said the facility tagged, “legacy project” would be fully furnished and equipped with ultra-modern gadgets, and be inaugurated before the end of May.
He said that the institute embarked on a linkage programme which began in the Rivers State University on May 23, 2017.
According to him, 75 tertiary institutions are currently drafted into the scheme as part of efforts to strengthen performance of the Banking and Finance graduates in the country.
“This will be achieved through the infusion of professional elements into the teaching and learning of the course for the enhancement of the profession.
“To this end, the institute has began the construction of a fully equipped 160-seater lecture theater to be called ‘The CIBN Bankers Hall,’ at the Rivers State University.
“The edifice will serve as the melting pot for the training and development of future-ready bankers.
”This project is indeed our modest contribution towards the promotion of banking and finance education in the country,” Olugbemi stated.
In his remarks, Prof. Nlerum Okogbule, the Vice Chancellor of the university, said the institution started Banking and Finance in 1980, and was one of the pioneer departments in the school.
“Arising from that, we have been able to produce men and women that are holding forth in different segments of the Nigerian economy,” he said.
Okogbule said collaboration between the institute and the university was in line with contemporary development worldwide, especially as government was unable to provide all the required funds and facilities needed by institutions of higher learning.
He thanked the institute for the gesture and assured that the facility would be sustained and put into good use.
The institute earlier commissioned its South-South zonal office In Port Harcourt.
