The Federal Government has formed a committee to evaluate and manage the various risks facing the nation.
This development was revealed by Dr. Olasupo Olusi, the Managing Director and CEO of the Bank of Industry, during the annual conference of the Chartered Risk Management Institute (CRMI) held in Lagos yesterday.
Dr. Olusi, who received an honorary fellowship at the event, stated that the committee is tasked with presenting its findings to the presidency within four weeks.
“I’m delighted to say that His Excellency, President Bola Tinubu, who understands the importance of risk management and implication for our economy at large has recently set up a committee to look into ways we can manage risks, credit risks better and he gave us a mandate to report to him back to him within the next four weeks,” Olusi said.
Additionally, CRMI conferred its first set of Honorary Fellowship Awards to several prominent figures, including Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadir Obafemi Hamzat; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Olayemi Cardoso; Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Dr. Zaccheus Adedeji; Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet); and the Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama.
Other recipients of the honorary fellowship included Dr. Adaora Umeoji, Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank; Dr. Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank; and Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, Managing Director/CEO of Fidelity Bank.
A significant highlight of the event was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to establish the Federation of African Risk Management Associations (FARMA).
The signing ceremony was attended by representatives from risk management institutes across Africa, including South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, Benin Republic, and Kenya.
The conference, which was themed “Emerging Crisis in Africa: The Way Forward,” also featured remarks from Dr. Ezekiel Oseni, President and Chairman of the Council at CRMI.
He revealed that the institute has sponsored a risk management bill, which is currently under review in the National Assembly and has already passed its first reading.
“One of the key initiatives of the Institute is sponsoring a bill at the National Assembly, as I promised last year. The bill has already passed its first reading. This legislation aims to mandate every Ministry, Department, and Agency to establish a risk management function.
“We envision every ministry and state government having a dedicated risk management department. This legislative move is a practical step towards positioning risk management as a fundamental component of governance in Nigeria,” Oseni said.
