Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank PLC, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has been listed amongst the recipients of the 2023 national awards.

According to the 2023 national awards list released by the Federal Government last weekend, Onyeali-Ikpe would be conferred with the award of the Officer of the Order of the Niger, OON.

 The list also includes prominent names such as Emeka Anyaoku, First lady, Oluremi Tinubu, Co-Founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dr Awele Elumelu; President of Transcorp Group, Dr Owen Omogiafo among others.

 Also, former Governor of Osun, Bisi Akande; Olusegun Osoba; Mamman Daura and Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, among others received Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic.

The OON award comes to join a list of recognitions Onyeali-Ikpe has received recently. It would be recalled that she bagged the awards of the Banker of the Year 2022 at the Champion Newspapers’ Awards of the Year 2022 earlier in May, the Banker of the Year 2022 at the 14th Leadership Annual Conference and Awards in January 2023 as well as the Best Banking CEO Nigeria 2023 in the 2023 Global Banking & Finance Awards in April 2023. She was also recognized as one of the top 10 female finalists in the Africa.com Definitive List of Women Chief Executive Officers (CEOs).

Onyeali-Ikpe joined Fidelity Bank as an Executive Director in 2015 and was appointed Managing Director/CEO of the Bank in January 2021.

Following her appointment, Onyeali-Ikpe became the first female MD/CEO in the history of the bank and one out of six other female CEOs in the industry.

Under Onyeali-Ikpe’s watch, Fidelity Bank grew its PBT from N25.22bilion in 2021 to N53.68billion in 2022. Furthermore, she guided the bank to obtain the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria to expand its operations to the United Kingdom.

In a bid to boost healthcare delivery to thousands of residents, the Lagos State Government has built and unveiled a new Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) in Ije-Ododo Community, Iba Local Council Development Area (LCDA), under the Ojo Council Area of the state.

The facility, which has been under construction since 2021 in partnership with First Bank of Nigeria Limited, was unveiled in the community in an opening ceremony attended by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, representatives of the state government, the state Primary Health Care Board, community leaders, as well as traditional rulers of Iba, Ije-Ododo and Ijagemo, among others.

In his welcome address, the governor, who was represented by Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Folashade Sherifat Jaji, said the opening of the health facility under the SSG’s One Community At a Time (OCAAT) initiative, formed part of activities to herald the inauguration of his second term in office on Monday, May 29, 2023.

Maintaining that the attention being paid to the healthcare sector was deliberate to ensure a healthier populace, he said the state government under his watch would deploy more resources to the health sector for easier access to health services, especially in underserved communities.

He enjoined members of the community to take full advantage of the health benefits that will be provided in the facility and charged them to take ownership and protect the assets and the facility at all times.

Speaking, Permanent Secretary, Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Ibrahim Mustapha, commended First Bank of Nigeria Limited and the contractor for completing the project within the stipulated time frame, but also requested more assistance to make the facility functional by providing equipment and other necessary medical gadgets.

On his part, Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, who was represented by Mr. Seyi Oyefeso, expressed satisfaction at the successful completion of the project, adding that it was gratifying to know that no fewer than 10,000 residents of Ije-Ododo and neighbouring communities will have access to primary healthcare services in the facility.

He said as a responsible corporate social organisation, the bank’s intervention in the primary healthcare sector aligned with its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach anchored on citizenship, impact management, strategic education, as well as the health and welfare of the immediate and remote communities of Lagos State and other parts of the country.

In his words: “The completion and opening of the primary healthcare centre is to ensure that Ije-Ododo community will become healthier and wealthier since health is wealth.”

In his goodwill message, the Baale of Ije-Ododo, Dr. Abu Jelili Ododo, who spoke in company of the Oba of Iba and Baale of Ijagemo, applauded Governor Sanwo-Olu for the timely completion of the healthcare centre and appealed for the construction of the Ijegun-Ije-Ododo-Abule-Ado road to link the Badagry Expressway, adding that it was high time the Ije-Ododo Community was provided with a motorable road to ease the sufferings of residents.

Responding to the request for the road, Jaji assured that the Lagos State government under Sanwo-Olu was poised to build the road but that the project suffered some setback due to agitations by some members of the community over the location of the project, adding however, that as soon as the governor settles down for his second tenure, construction work will begin on the road.

The Finance and Insurance Sector grew by 21.37% in the first quarter of 2023, according to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The report shows that the figure is lower by 1.86% points from the rate recorded in the 2022 first quarter and higher by 9.76% points from the rate recorded in the preceding quarter. Quarter-on-quarter growth in real terms, however, stood at 14.20%.

The contribution of Finance and Insurance to real GDP totaled 5.35%, higher than the contribution of 4.51% recorded in the first quarter of 2022 by 0.84% points, and higher than 3.95% recorded in Q4 2022 by 1.40% points.

Notably, the Finance and Insurance Sector consists of two subsectors, Financial Institutions and Insurance, in which the former accounted for 91.75% and the latter 8.25% of the sector respectively in real terms in Q1 2023.

The sector grew at 22.37% in nominal terms (year-on-year), with the growth rate of Financial Institutions at 25.99% and -7.25% growth rate recorded for Insurance.

The total rate was 0.21% points lower than the previous quarter and 9.91% points lower than Q1 2022. Growth from one quarter to the next was 12.55%. The sector’s contribution to the nominal GDP increased to 4.11% in Q1 2023 from 3.80% the year prior and 3.30% the quarter before, representing an increase of both percentage points.

According to the GDP overview, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased in real terms by 2.31% (year over year) in the first quarter of 2023. This growth rate decreased from the 3.11% first quarter of 2022 and the 3.52% fourth quarter of 2022 records.

The detrimental consequences of the cash shortage faced throughout the quarter are blamed for the decline in growth. The Services sector, which had growth of 4.35% and contributed 57.29% to the total GDP, was the primary driver of the GDP’s performance in the first quarter of 2023.

Agriculture experienced growth of -0.90%, which was less than the 3.16% growth seen in the first quarter of 2022. Agriculture and the industry sectors had less contribution to the overall GDP in the quarter under review compared to the first quarter of 2022, despite the industrial sector’s growth improving to 0.31% relative to – 6.81% reported in the first quarter of 2022.