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Sanwo-Olu Commissions UBA Business Office at New Ultra-Modern Afriland Towers
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The Bank for Africa (UBA) last Friday, officially added a new touch point to its network. UBA operates in 20 African countries and in the United Kingdom, the USA and France. The new branch in Afriland towers on the Lagos Island was commissioned by the Executive Governor of Lagos state, his Excellency Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Chairman of UBA, Mr Tony O. Elumelu.
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Chairperson of Avon Healthcare Limited, Dr. Awele Elumelu; Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu; and Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu; during the commissioning of a new UBA Business Office located at the newly remodeled Afriland Tower by the Governor in Lagos on Friday
The Governor who congratulated the UBA management and Afriland for the beautiful edifice said the bank has remained a principal stakeholder in the development of Lagos, constantly creating jobs and opportunities for Nigerians.
The Chairman, UBA Group, Mr. Tony Elumelu, who received the Governor as well as the Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu expressed gratitude to every other guest who took time off their busy schedules to grace the event.
He explained that the project to build the new business office in Afriland towers was borne out of the need to solidify past successes recorded by the bank, as well as create new vistas for the growth of businesses. He explained that Afriland properties, developers of Afriland Towers is set to develop new projects aimed at catapulting Lagos into the state of excellence.
He said, “It is interesting to note that Afriland has been developing some iconic properties, and today is a wonderful and joyous moment to see that this building which has a lot of rich history, is back to life. We call it the rebirth, and we appreciate all the planning that has gone into the creation of this beautiful and clean world-class masterpiece’. Elumelu hinted at plans of Afriland to develop more iconic properties in the near future, adding that given its expertise and its pedigree, the people of Lagos were in for a huge surprise.
Elumelu said, “Indeed, this is just a tip of what we want to do at Falamo in Ikoyi. We are going to develop a world-class integrated complex at Falomo, and everyone will be pleased at the outcome.
On his part, the Lagos State Governor, congratulated UBA and Afriland on the major feat of developing a beautiful edifice such as Afriland, adding that Tony Elumelu is known for coming up with great ideas that boost employment opportunities for Nigerians.
He said, “This is a historic event today and it is a great honour to be here to see the kind of possibilities that can be achieved when you set your mind to it, and what you can turn an un-earning asset into. It is very interesting to note that that this house, formerly called the Raymond House has a rich history, and this is quite nostalgic for me because like some of you may know, I used to work with UBA and this place was the head office where everyone wanted to be because everything happened here. Im happy to know that it has such a rich history dating back to over a century ago.
Continuing Sanwo-Olu said, “I want to commend you and I am happy that Afriland has turned this into a very beautiful and modern 21st Century building with a high level of detail, and beautiful structure. Infact, I call it a work-life like environment – this is what it should be, coming to an environment that caters for you in all areas and for your healthy living.”
While stating that the building was bringing back the old glory of Lagos, the governor added that it will put plans in motion to use the Afriland template to develop some of its old buildings.
“We plan to rebuild some of our old structures in Lagos state such as the old Oluwole market, the children’s hospital at Martins street, among others. We will also be building a cable car project into Lagos Island and all the buildings that have gone down will be rebuilt to meet up with international standards that Afriland has shown us here today,” Sanwo Olu added.
The Oba of Lagos, who congratulated UBA for continuing to contribute positively to the economy as a financial institution that cares about the communities in which it operates.
The Managing Director, Afriland Properties, Uzo Oshogwe, gave a brief history of Afriland Towers, noting the former Raymond House was built in 1886. She added that the rebirth of the Towers showed that the company believed in the potential that could be achieved at the edifice.
The new ultra-modern Afriland Tower Business Office is equipped with state – of – the art facilities, designed to ease banking transactions for its visitors. Facilities provided in the new office include ATM galleries amongst others
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Subscribe to Dangote Refinery Shares Seamlessly Through Zenith Bank
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Nigerians at home and in the diaspora seeking to participate in the landmark Initial Public Offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals can subscribe conveniently through Zenith Bank, a receiving bank for the historic transaction and a designated electronic application channel for the offer. Subscription is open through the Zenith Bank website, the Zenith mobile app, internet banking, USSD, corporate internet banking and any Zenith Bank branch nationwide.
Across all of these channels, anchored by Zenith Bank’s network of 456 branches and 84 cash centres, investors enjoy a secure, fast and reliable route into the offer from anywhere in the world, at any hour. Whether the application begins on a phone in London, a laptop in Houston or across the counter of a Zenith banking hall in Lokoja, the path to ownership opens with a few taps and carries the investor smoothly through to completion. Every subscription is linked to the investor’s Bank Verification Number, a seal of identity and security that accompanies each application from submission to allotment. It is service the Zenith way: first-time and seasoned investors alike enjoy a straightforward and fully protected process, and the quiet confidence that their stake in history is processed through Zenith Bank.
Applications open on Monday, 14 September 2026 and run for 30 days, closing on Tuesday, 13 October 2026. According to the prospectus, the shares are offered at ₦525 each, with a minimum subscription of 10 shares, or ₦5,250. The offer seeks to raise ₦2.15 trillion, the largest equity offering ever undertaken on the African continent, and the prospectus further provides that retail investors who subscribe and hold their shares may qualify for bonus shares under the Retail Investor Incentive Programme, subject to regulatory approvals.
Zenith Bank stands ready to make participation effortless for investors who choose to take part. Nigeria’s largest bank by Tier-1 capital and the country’s most profitable bank, Zenith has built its reputation on combining scale with innovation, and that strength is now at the service of every investor in this offer. This is proven ground for the bank: Zenith Bank’s own most recent public offering was executed mainly through digital channels, a demonstration of digital readiness built on the bank’s robust digital infrastructure. That infrastructure has since been strengthened further through a comprehensive technological overhaul, positioning Zenith to serve its retail customers with the same excellence long enjoyed by its corporate clients, precisely the capability an offer of this scale demands.
Within the wider transaction, Quantum Zenith Capital & Investments Limited serves among the joint issuing houses, while Zenith Bank itself provides the secure and dependable channels through which applications are received and processed. Having successfully taken its own landmark offer to the market through digital channels, Zenith brings that same tested infrastructure and experience to the largest equity offering in African history. It is the same combination of financial strength, digital excellence and customer devotion that has earned Zenith Bank recognition year after year as one of Africa’s foremost financial institutions, trusted by millions of customers and by the corporates and governments behind the continent’s biggest transactions.
For over three decades, Zenith Bank has been the trusted gateway to Nigeria’s defining financial moments, and its channels are open for this one. Investors who wish to participate can fund their Zenith Bank account and subscribe through any of the bank’s platforms before the offer closes on 13 October 2026.
Please note that the details of the offer are provided in the prospectus and guided by extant regulations. Zenith Bank serves as a Receiving Bank and electronic application channel for this offer. Investors are advised to carefully read the Prospectus and, where appropriate, seek independent professional advice before making any investment decision.
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ZENITH BANK’S 10TH INTERNATIONAL TRADE SEMINAR SETS OUT STRATEGIES TO SCALE NIGERIA’S NON-OIL EXPORTS
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Zenith Bank Plc hosted the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, marking a decade of sustained advocacy for the diversification of Nigeria’s economy. The virtual event brought together policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and development partners from across Africa and beyond, all focused on one question: how Nigeria can earn more from what it sells to the world.
Held under the theme “Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth”, the seminar examined how Nigeria can move beyond exporting raw commodities to building competitive value chains, strengthening trade infrastructure and financing, and deepening the sector’s contribution to sustainable economic growth.
In her welcome address, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame (Dr.) Adaora Umeoji, OON, paid tribute to the Bank’s Founder, Dr. Jim Ovia, CFR, whose vision gave birth to the seminar in 2015, and urged participants to turn Nigeria’s improving export numbers into lasting economic value.
In her words: “Our theme, ‘Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth’, is not just a slogan. It speaks to the opportunities before us and the need to translate our collective efforts into sustainable economic value. According to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, Nigeria’s non-oil exports reached a record $6.1 billion in 2025, up 11.5 per cent from the $5.46 billion recorded in 2024, and a remarkable leap from the $612 million recorded a decade earlier. Through our partnership with the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, we have commenced the development of the SMARTAfCFTA portal, and our integration with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is making cross-border business easier for our customers. Wherever our exporters need to reach, Zenith Bank will reach with them.”
She commended His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for the structural reforms creating a more enabling environment for businesses, and the Central Bank of Nigeria, under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, for reforms that have improved foreign exchange stability and market confidence. “As we build on the progress recorded so far,” she added, “it is important that, as a nation, we accelerate growth by creating more value locally and exporting finished products, rather than just raw materials.”
Delivering the keynote address, the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, MFR, called for deeper trade and investment reforms, a better export environment and wider market access within Africa and beyond. “The question before us now is not simply how to export more, but how to retain more value in Nigeria from everything we export,” she said. “Our focus at the Ministry is straightforward: produce more competitively in Nigeria, process more in Nigeria, connect Nigerian businesses to bigger markets, and ensure that the financing, infrastructure and trade systems exist to help them scale. In July, I assumed the chair of the AfCFTA Council of Ministers, and I see at first hand that the opportunity before us goes beyond the size of the African market of over 1.4 billion people and approximately $3.4 trillion in GDP. It is about enabling Nigerian firms to sell more products, reach more markets and deepen regional value chains. Nigeria’s role as an AfCFTA digital trade co-champion further positions us to help shape how this market evolves, particularly as digital trade creates new pathways for Nigerian businesses to reach customers across the continent.” She urged financial institutions to go beyond financing export transactions to financing export capability, and encouraged Nigerian businesses to prepare for intra-African trade by investing in productivity, quality and skills.
In his presentation, the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) and immediate past President/Chairman of Afreximbank, Professor Benedict Oramah, GCON, argued that the moment demands new thinking. “The theme chosen for this 10th edition is both apt and timely,” he said. “The global economy is experiencing unprecedented levels of entropy. I do not raise this to alarm us. I raise it because a unique opportunity lies ahead of us that may well pave the way to Africa’s ascendance. The question is no longer whether Africa can attract enough external capital and external demand to power its growth. The question is whether Africa, and Nigeria within it, can build her own internal demand, participate effectively in global supply chains, build the capacity to finance her own trade and industries, and create her own markets.” He commended Zenith Bank and its leadership for advancing Nigeria’s non-oil export agenda over the past decade.
The Founder and Executive Chair of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited, Mrs Patricia Poku-Diaby, made the case for transformation plainly. “Let us make no mistake: the future of our economy will not be determined simply by what we grow or what we mine, but by what we transform,” she said. “We need to move from being suppliers of raw materials to becoming producers, processors, manufacturers, exporters and owners of strong African brands. Our focus should be on creating more value before our products leave our shores.”
Speaking on the Nigeria-United Kingdom trade relationship, the UK Minister of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt. Hon. Florence Eshalomi, MP, represented by Ms Mujina Kaindama, Head of Trade Policy for UK Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, commended the Bank for the platform. “The trade relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria is one of immense importance and even greater potential,” she said. “Nigeria is home to extraordinary entrepreneurial talent, innovation and creativity. One of the most promising opportunities lies not simply in increasing exports, but in increasing the value of those exports: moving further up the value chain, processing raw materials, developing branded products and creating higher-value manufactured and agricultural goods. In doing so, Nigerian businesses can unlock greater returns, create jobs and build sustainable economic growth.”
The Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, His Excellency Wamkele Mene, placed the private sector at the centre of the continent’s economic restructuring. “The private sector is at the heart of the fundamental restructuring of Africa’s economy that all of us want to see,” he said, “and the seminar Zenith Bank has convened strikes at the heart of that objective: reducing the reliance of exports on unprocessed commodities and accelerating industrialisation and value addition in Africa. The success of the AfCFTA will ultimately be measured not by how many protocols and legal instruments have been signed, but by the extent to which our private sector can leverage the AfCFTA to access new markets, scale their investment and scale their productive capacity to create jobs across the continent.”
The seminar featured two panel sessions. The public sector panel brought together Mr Abubakar Bello, Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), represented by Mr Hope Nyongo, Technical Adviser; Mr Adewale Adeniyi, MFR, Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service; Dr Abubakar Dantsoho, Managing Director/CEO of the Nigerian Ports Authority, represented by Mr Adebowale Lawal, Ports Manager, Lagos Ports Complex; Ms Aderinola Shonekan, Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria; Mrs Nonye Ayeni, Executive Director/CEO of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council; and Mr Adekunle Ajai, General Manager, Neroli Technologies. The panellists committed to improving trade facilitation, customs efficiency, logistics reform, trade advocacy and exporters’ access to funding.
The private sector panel featured Alhaji Adeniji Adeyemi, MD/CEO of Starlink Global & Ideal Limited; Alhaji Sada Ladan-Baki, Group Executive Director, International Trade and Export, Dangote Group; Mr Bamidele Ayemibo, Senior Consultant, 3T Impex Trade Centre; Mr Mobolaji Salako, Managing Director, Terra Aqua Environmental Consultancy Nigeria Limited; Mr Ramzi Taher, Managing Director, RMM Global Company Limited; Mrs Oluyemisi Iranloye, Founder/Managing Director, Psaltry International; and Chief (Mrs) Chinwe Ezenwa, MD/CEO, Lelook Nigeria Limited. Their discussions centred on trade barriers, value creation and addition, competitiveness, product certification, market intelligence and the structured financing needed to scale non-oil exports.
The Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export was launched in 2015 to drive dialogue and action around Nigeria’s non-oil export potential. Ten years on, the Bank continues to champion the sector’s growth by opening up market opportunities and backing exporters with financing, incentives and practical support.
The 2026 edition streamed live on Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok, drawing thousands of participants from 97 countries. The tenth edition closed the way the first began a decade ago: with a commitment to give Nigerian businesses the tools, partnerships and capital they need to compete in regional and global markets.
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ZENITH BANK TO BRING GLOBAL TRADE LEADERS TOGETHER AT 10TH INTERNATIONAL TRADE SEMINAR ON NON-OIL EXPORTS
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Zenith Bank Plc will host the 10th edition of its International Trade Seminar on Non-Oil Export on Tuesday, 25 August 2026, bringing together leading policymakers, regulators, exporters, manufacturers, investors and other key stakeholders to explore practical strategies for unlocking value and accelerating growth in Nigeria’s non-oil export sector.
Themed “Unlocking Value and Harnessing Growth in Non-Oil Export”, the virtual seminar will examine how Nigeria can move beyond exporting raw commodities to build globally competitive value chains, expand market access, strengthen trade infrastructure and financing, and deepen the contribution of non-oil exports to sustainable economic growth.
The high-level event will feature an impressive line-up of guest speakers, including the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, H.E. Wamkele Mene; the Chief Executive Officer of Plot Enterprise Ghana Limited, Mrs Patricia Poku-Diaby; and the immediate past President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah.
The seminar will also convene leading voices from the public and private sectors in two panel discussions. The first panel, dedicated to public sector perspectives, will bring together key stakeholders driving Nigeria’s trade, export, investment and economic development agenda. It will feature the Managing Director/Chief Executive of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank), Mr Abba Bello; the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi; the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Ms Aderinola Shonekan; the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Mrs Aisha Rimi; and the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Mrs Nonye Ayeni.
The second panel, focused on private sector perspectives, will feature the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Starlink Global & Ideal Limited, Alhaji Adeniji Adeyemi; the Group Executive Director, Dangote Group, Alhaji Sada Ladan-Baki; Senior Consultant at 3T Impex Trade Centre, Mr Bamidele Ayemibo; the Managing Director of Terra Aqua Environmental Consultancy Nigeria Limited, Alhaji Mobolaji Salako; the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of RMM Global, Mr Ramzi Taher; and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Lelook Nigeria Limited, Chief Mrs Chinwe Ezenwa.
The discussions will offer practical perspectives on trade facilitation, export financing, customs and port efficiency, regulation, market access, and the competitiveness of Nigerian businesses in regional and global markets.
A key focus of the seminar will be the African Continental Free Trade Area and its potential to open up a larger market for Nigerian goods and services while deepening intra-African trade. With the AfCFTA offering businesses access to a market of more than one billion people, the discussions will examine how Nigerian enterprises can leverage regional integration, build competitive value chains and seize emerging opportunities across the continent.
Zenith Bank has consistently championed conversations around trade and economic development. It remains at the forefront of efforts to support businesses seeking to participate more effectively in regional and international commerce. The Bank has also partnered with the AfCFTA Secretariat on initiatives to facilitate cross-border trade and expand access to opportunities across Africa.
Now in its 10th edition, the Zenith Bank International Trade Seminar has evolved into a leading platform for high-level dialogue on Nigeria’s trade and export ecosystem. Over the years, the seminar has brought together government, regulators, businesses, financial institutions, and other stakeholders to examine emerging trends, identify challenges, and proffer practical solutions to strengthen Nigeria’s position in global commerce.
The 2026 edition will build on this legacy, convening some of the most influential voices shaping Nigeria’s trade, investment and economic landscape around one critical question: how can Nigeria unlock greater value from its non-oil exports and translate its vast productive potential into sustainable economic growth?
The seminar will be held virtually and streamed live on Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X, and TikTok, enabling participants in Nigeria and around the world to join the conversation. Interested participants can register at www.zenithbank.com/exportsem
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