brand
A Promise Fulfilled: UBA Shareholders Commend 2023 Superlative Performance, Dividend Payout
….Shareholders Give Approval to recapitalise as Directed by the Regulators
….UBA Pays Total Dividend of N95.8bn, translating to N2.80 per share in 2023.
Shareholders of Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, have praised the board, management and staff of the Bank on the impressive performance recorded over the past years and especially in 2023, culminating in the payout of N78.7bn as final dividend for the 2023 financial year.
The shareholders took turns to express their delight during the bank’s 62nd Annual General Meeting which was held at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hotels in Abuja on Friday.
The shareholders overwhelmingly approved the Board of Director’s proposal to raise additional capital through the issuance of securities comprising ordinary shares, preference shares, convertible and/or non-convertible notes, bonds or any other instruments in the Nigerian and/or international capital market.
Addressing shareholders at the event, the Group Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, appealed to shareholders to participate fully and re-invest their dividends in the bank’s recapitalisation drive as this will ensure that they continue to enjoy even higher returns from their investments.
He said, “I call on you shareholders to re-invest a substantial part of your dividends in our rights issues which will be announced soon, as we will be giving you the first opportunity to own a share in all the countries where we operate, I am advising shareholders, as you get your dividends, reinvest a significant part of it. As for my board members and I, we would be investing 100% of the dividends we get, because If we don’t do so, it means we would be leaving food on the table for others who did not labour for it,” Elumelu stated.
In the year under consideration, UBA had declared an interim dividend of N17.1bn representing a pay-out of 50kobo per share for the first half of 2023, thus bringing the total dividend for the 2023 financial year to N95.8bn, representing N2.80 per share.
Surprisingly and in another first, dividend payouts were received while the meeting was still on just seconds after the resolution on dividend payments were passed at the meeting by the shareholders, resulting in open excitement from the shareholders.
They also commended the bank’s management over the impressive performance for the 2023 financial year, which resulted in the large payout of dividend to its investors, and highlighted its thriving business in its African subsidiaries, which continues to contribute significantly to the Group’s total income.
Alhaji Mukhtar Mukhtar, one of the shareholders who spoke at the meeting, commended the Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, and the Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba, for their concerted effort towards ensuring that the performance of the bank reached unprecedented heights in the year under consideration.
He said, “I want to specially commend the management and Board of UBA, especially the Chairman, Tony Elumelu and the GMD/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, who have been managing activities of this great institution over the past few years.
“We are impressed at the results that you have recorded so far, how you have managed to maintain a well-structured balance-sheet and diversified balance sheet with total Assets growing to over N20trn. The achievement that the bank has recorded under your leadership, especially the sterling contributions of our subsidiaries in Africa deserves accolades,” Muktar stated.
Another shareholder, Patrick Ajudo, also commended Elumelu for keeping the promise made to shareholders a few years ago to begin to pay increased dividend.
“Our Chairman, Tony Elumelu, promised shareholders a few years ago in this same hall, that he will move from ‘kobo-kobo’ dividends to naira dividends, and he has kept that promise. We are very excited, because, not only have you kept that promise, but you have backed it up by even matching the industry standards. Indeed, we are proud to be associated with such a brand that has integrity, and we highly commend you for this,” he stated.
Barrister (Mrs) Adetutu Siyanbola, another shareholder, took time to commend the bank’s management for its operations over the decades, especially as it celebrates its landmark 75th year anniversary, praising the gender balance and high female representation on the bank’s board, which according to her, is a feat worth emulating by other financial institutions in Africa.
While commending the GMD for wining several awards in the 2023 financial year, she expressed satisfaction that the bank did not incur any penalty in the year under consideration, which meant that UBA had zero infractions and didn’t run foul of any regulations.
At the end of the 2023 financial year, UBA recorded an impressive leap in gross earnings, as it grew from N853.2 billion recorded at the end of 2022 to close at N2.07tn; representing a strong 143 percent growth; total assets also rose remarkably by 90.22 percent, to close at N20.65 trillion up from N10.86 trillion in 2022.
Profit before tax, also grew exponentially by 277 percent, to close at N758billion, up from N200.88 billion recorded in 2022; while profit after tax (PAT) grew by 257 percent from N170.2 billion in 2022, to N607 billion.
The Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, explained that despite being a year of significant geopolitical and economic challenges, UBA’s strength, the effort and dedication of the team, and its leadership in strategic areas such as innovation and sustainability, helped the bank to grow in a profitable and sustainable manner,
Looking ahead, he said, “The outlook is great because we are diversified. Our African subsidiaries contributed over 55% to the bank’s profit this year, and we will do more. Already, the Bank entered 2024 from a position of strength, with proven resiliency, a powerful brand and a strong capital position.
“As we begin 2024, “execution” will continue to be on the front burner, with an unrelenting focus on market leadership and excellent customer experience at all touch points,” Alawuba explained.
United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group wide and serving over 35 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries and in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting edge technology.
U, B A: Group Chairman, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, CFR and Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, at the 62nd Annual General Meeting of United Bank for Africa (UBA held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Friday
[5/26, 4:13 PM] U, B A: Group Chairman, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, CFR and Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, at the 62nd Annual General Meeting of United Bank for Africa (UBA held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Friday
![]()
U, B A: l-r Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Oliver Alawuba: Group Chairman, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu,CFR; Company Secretary and Legal Counsel, Mr. Bili Odum; Group Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Muyiwa Akinyemi; and Non-Executive Director, Ms Angela Aneke, at the 62nd Annual General Meeting of United Bank for Africa (UBA), coinciding with the Bank’s 75th Anniversary, held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on Friday
brand
GTCO Brings Google Pay to Both Sides of the Checkout As Google Pay launches in Nigeria
![]()
…….GTBank customers can now pay with it and businesses on HabariPay’s Squad gateway can now accept it.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (“GTCO” or “the Group“) today announced that two of its subsidiaries are live with Google Pay on the day it launches in Nigeria. Customers of Guaranty Trust Bank Limited (“GTBank”) can add their GTBank debit cards to Google Wallet and pay with Google Pay online, in Nigeria and internationally. Businesses that use Squad, the payment gateway run by the Group’s payments subsidiary HabariPay, can now offer Google Pay to their customers at checkout.
The Group is therefore present at both ends of the same transaction: with the person paying and with the business being paid.
For GTBank customers, the change is simple. They add their GTBank debit card to Google Wallet once. After that, they choose Google Pay at checkout, pick the card and confirm, without typing a card number, expiry date or CVV again. Google Pay replaces the card number with a secure digital token, so the merchant does not receive the actual card details. The card can be used wherever Google Pay is accepted online, including for subscriptions, travel bookings, food delivery, bills and digital services.
For businesses on Squad, “Pay with Google Pay” now sits at the top of the Squad checkout, alongside card, bank transfer, USSD, bank payments and Squad’s buy-now-pay-later options. A customer with a card in Google Wallet selects Google Pay, chooses the card, confirms, and is returned to the merchant’s site once the payment is verified. Google Pay is switched on by default for every business on Squad, and a merchant can choose to turn it off. Merchants set up for international payments can accept Google Pay from customers anywhere in the world, which opens Nigerian businesses to buyers abroad, including the diaspora. Fewer fields mean fewer points at which a customer can abandon a purchase, which matters most to the small and growing businesses that make up much of Squad’s merchant base.
Commenting on the launch, the Group Chief Executive Officer of GTCO, Mr Segun Agbaje, said: “Most failed online payments are not refused, they are abandoned. Somewhere along the way the customer gives up, and the business never learns about the sale it lost. As a customer centric Financial Services Group, we are committed to ensuring that we continue to deliver payment solutions that make transacting safe and simple for our various customer Groups. With Google Pay, what matters to us is that we are ready on both sides from the first day: a GTBank customer can pay with it, and a business on Squad can accept it.”
He added: “This is what a group structure is for. Our Bank and our Payments Business were built to do different jobs, and today they meet at the same checkout. We will keep putting the full weight of the Group behind those small moments where people decide whether paying digitally is worth the effort. When it is, everyone in the transaction wins: the customer, the merchant and the wider economy that depends on both.”
The Managing Director of HabariPay, Mr Eduofon Japhet, said: “For a merchant, every extra field at checkout is a reason for a customer to leave. Squad businesses now get Google Pay inside the checkout they already use, so their customers can pay in a few taps with a card they have already saved. A merchant set up for international payments can now be paid with Google Pay by a customer anywhere in the world, with nothing new to integrate.”
Availability. GTBank customers can add an eligible GTBank debit card through the Google Wallet app on Android or through their Google Account. From today, Google Pay is on by default for all businesses on the Squad payment gateway, and merchants can choose to turn it off. Squad merchants set up for international payments can accept Google Pay from anywhere in the world. More information is available at www.gtbank.com and www.squadco.com.
brand
ZENITH BANK SET TO HOST SIXTH EDITION OF ANNUAL TECH FAIR
![]()
Zenith Bank Plc is set to host the sixth edition of its flagship technology event, Zenith Bank Tech Fair 2026: Future Forward 6.0, on Thursday, November 5, 2026, under the theme, “AI: Embrace or Extinct.”
Renowned for its scale and showcase of technological innovation, the annual Tech Fair has evolved into a platform for connecting ideas, talent and opportunities. Over the years, the event has brought together technology leaders, entrepreneurs, and young innovators to explore emerging technologies, showcase solutions and examine the future of the digital economy.
Conceived by the Bank’s Founder, Jim Ovia, CFR, the initiative reflects his vision of empowering young Nigerians through technology and nurturing inventors capable of developing solutions with global relevance. It also reinforces Zenith Bank’s commitment to digital advancement and the growth of Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.
The impact of the Tech Fair is evident in the solutions emerging from its competitions. Previous winners include JumpnPass, which developed a self-checkout solution for retail, and CreditChek, which uses artificial intelligence and open banking to streamline credit verification. At the 2025 edition, TrustLoopwon the hackathon for its digital identity verification solution, while Cubbes Technologies won the startup pitch competition with its AI-powered EdTech learning platform. Through millions in prize funding and mentorship, the Tech Fair continues to support promising innovators in developing practical solutions to real-world challenges.
For the first time, the Tech Fair will be held virtually, opening participation to a wider borderless audience across Nigeria and beyond. This year’s theme explores the growing influence of AI and challenges individuals and organisations to consider howbest to harness its potential in an increasingly technology-driven world. The event will offer participants an opportunity to discover emerging innovations, gain fresh insights and engage with ideas shaping the future of work and business.
The Tech Fair will be accessible via Zoom, Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube.
Be part of the future of technology. Register now at www.zenithbank.com/techfair and experience the possibilities of AI at Zenith Bank Tech Fair 2026.
brand
AUBA Commences Comtempt Proceedings Against WEMPCO Directors over Alleged Disobidence of Court Order
![]()
Mr. Lewis Tung and his brother Robert Tung
The Federal High Court, presided over by Honourable Justice Aluko, has granted an application by United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc for substituted service of Form 49 on directors of Wempco named as alleged contemnors in the case of UBA v. Wempco.
The application forms part of proceedings seeking to determine whether the named individuals disobeyed an order of the court and whether they should be committed to prison for contempt.
The directors named as alleged contemnors are Lewis Shui Ngor Tung, Phillip Shui Chei Tung, M.A. Ola Yusuf, Tung Lawrence Blake, Aali Aare Hadji Tokunbo, Paul Shui Po Tung, Tung Robert, C.L. Ip and Taiwo Alli.
In advancing the application, counsel to UBA argued that service of Form 49 on the alleged contemnors was necessary to enable them to appear before the court and show cause why an order of committal should not be made against them.
He also argued that the Directors of Wempco and some members of staff took illegal steps in an attempt to disobey the Order of Court.
The court’s decision to grant substituted service provides a procedural step towards bringing the notice to the attention of the individuals concerned in accordance with the court’s directions.
Form 49 is a notice requiring an alleged contemnor to show cause why an order of committal to prison should not be made against them for alleged disobedience of a court order.
The Federal High Court had earlier made an Order of Mareva Injunction and appointed a Receiver/Manager over some of the Assets of Wempco following the indebtedness of Wempco to UBA in the sum of N61,445,695,993.76 (Sixty One Billion FourHundred and Forty-Five Million Six Hundred and Ninety Five Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Three Naira, Seventy Six Kobo).
-
news6 years agoUPDATE: #ENDSARS: CCTV footage of Lekki shootings intact – Says Sanwo – Olu
-
lifestyle6 years agoFormer Miss World: Mixed reactions trail Agbani Darego’s looks
-
news8 years ago
-
health6 years agoChairman Agege LG, Ganiyu Egunjobi Receives Covid-19 Vaccines
-
lifestyle5 years agoObateru: Celebrating a Quintessential PR Man at 60
-
news1 year agoBREAKING: Tinubu swears in new NNPCL Board
-
health6 years agoUPDATE : Nigeria Records 790 new cases of COVID-19
-
society3 years agoBisbam CEO, Abisola Bamidele, Bags Owu Chieftaincy Title