African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is delighted to congratulate Professor Benedict Oramah, President, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, on his conferment to the title of “Commander of the Order of the Niger” (CON), by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari.
Prof Oramah’s investiture occurred on the 11th of October, 2022 in a colourful ceremony in Abuja.
The Commander of the Order of the Niger is Nigeria’s second most prestigious order of merit and is awarded to individuals who have rendered outstanding services to the nation. In the citation associated with President Oramah’s receipt of the honour, the Professor’s “vast achievements as a visionary institutional leader” were recognized, as well as his status as a “truly great son of Nigeria and Africa”.
Also invoked in the citation was the President’s leadership of Afreximbank, and his role, in this position, as a prominent ambassador of Africa’s creativity and enterprise. The citation notes that the President’s tenure has witnessed the Bank emerge as the principal driver of economic transformation in Africa, and an instrumental player in the implementation of the historic African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
Moreover, Professor Oramah’s leadership has guided Afreximbank’s design and launch of vital and ambitious pan-African ventures, such as the “revolutionary” Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which facilitates significant intra-African payments in African currencies, as well as the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair, at which an aggregate of over US$75 billion in trade and investments deals have been secured.
In addition to these momentous contributions to pan-African economic collaboration and interaction, President Oramah’s award is an acknowledgement of his critical role in strengthening the Nigerian financial sector and the growth of its private sector – with a total of US$36 billion invested by the Bank into the Nigerian economy since the institution’s founding.
Prof Benedict Okechukwu Oramah, President of Afreximbank,
commenting on his receipt of the honour, said: “As a proud son of Nigeria, it is an incalculable honour to receive the Commander of the Order of the Niger. I am grateful to His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari for the recognition not only of my own lifetime’s work, but of the stellar work done by everyone at Afreximbank to stimulate Nigeria’s economic growth and the wider economic transformation of Africa.
” I remain utterly committed to fulfilling Afreximbank’s vision of a continent which is economically developed, sophisticated and able to assert its independence and draw on the incredible potential of its people.”
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