Recently, First Bank of Nigeria Limited was named Financial Institution of the Year at the African Export-Import Bank Pan African Business and Development Awards.

The event was held in Accra, Ghana where Afreximbank celebrated its 30th anniversary by hosting the inaugural Pan-African Business and Development Awards in collaboration with the Business Council for Africa.

According to a statement, the award was given to FirstBank in recognition of the bank's role in promoting trade and investment across the continent, which has helped in strengthening economic and multilateral business relationships across nations.

Speaking on the awards, the Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, said, 

“We thank the organizers of the event for the recognition as it reinforces our commitment to promoting trade, finance and investment opportunities across borders which have been instrumental to the continued growth and development of the continent and the world.”

Also speaking about the awards, Benedict Oramah, president and chairman of the board, stated that the occasion was held torecognizee great leaders and institutions.

“Having joined the Bank in 1994, I have been fortunate to have worked with many of them. At Afreximbank, contributing to Africa’s development is a lifetime vocation,as I know it is for all those that we have recognized tonight,” he said.

In honoring the leaders and institutions, Arnold Ekpe, chair of the BCA and former Group CEO of Ecobank, emphasized that (African) business leaders are usually neglected.