First Bank adopts Omatek brand

Oluwaseun Ayantokun, Lagos

First Bank of Nigeria Plc has adopted Omatek Computers brand as hardware of choice for its network of branches nation wide.

The bank, which had earlier offered N1b facility to Omatek, is also willing to give out loans to Nigerians willing to purchase Omatek computers with payment terms stretched over several months.

The bank stated that its credit facility would help advance the key objectives of the Computer- for All Initiative (CANi) scheme while invariably catering for those Nigerians who ordinarily are outside the CANi scope.

According to the statement, the scheme would cater for employees of public and private establishments, including those of small and medium enterprises (SMES), and self employed individuals.

According to Mrs Florence Seriki, CEO, Omatek Computers ,"First Bank has demonstrated its commitments to improving the national economy over the years as one of most reliable financial institutions.

"With this present commitment, we at Omatek believe that the bank has shown that it believes Nigeria ’s chances at leapfrogging its economy is through having citizens that are ICT enabled".
First Bank

’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jacobs Ajekigbe, said that the computer financing scheme was to allow Nigerians have the necessary financial capacity to acquire the basic ICT skills to drive their businesses and become more productive.

While describing the facility as part of the bank’s social responsibility aimed at uplifting the computer literacy quotient of the average Nigerian citizen, Ajekigbe assured Omatek of the bank's willingness to support initiatives that would promote economic growth and empowerment of the citizens.

Mrs. Seriki added that part of the company's focus was to equip the younger generation from primary to tertiary institutions in order to establish an IT driven population that would create a knowledge-based economy stressing that with the bank facility, Omatek is more than ready to deliver computers to every home through the CANi initiative.

Sanusi tasks CIBN fellows on professionalism

The immediate past Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria, Mr. Joseph Sanusi, has enjoined Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) to assist in training newly recruited bankers to ensure they start on the right footing.

Sanusi who made the suggestion at the Fellowship Night of the CIBN at the weekend, said such an exercise is necessary for the integration of new bankers so that they can imbibe all the professional lessons that will make them successful bankers.

In a paper titled:”The Role of the CIBN Fellows in developing professional bankers”, Sanusi said Fellows of the institute must also serve as role models in the observance of the code of ethics and professionalism in their words and deeds.

According to him, a principal success factor in the development of a professional banker is getting him to know and internalize the code of ethics in banking business. He therefore charged the CIBN fellows to ensure the enforcement and compliance with the code of Ethics and professionalism in the banking and finance industry.

Pointing out the immense contributions of the CIBN towards the development of professional bankers in the country, the former CBN boss urged the fellows to continue to support the institute so that it can continue to function effectively and remain relevant.

Explaining further, he said the support could either be financial assistance through payment of membership dues and other levies and by encouraging others to meet membership obligations.

In addition, Sanusi tasked the fellows of the institute to encourage other bankers to enroll for the professional examinations of the CIBN as well as encouraging them to avail themselves of the expertise of institutions such as the Financial Institutions Training Centres.

Some eminent bankers such as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Jacob Ajekigbe were honoured as fellows of the institute.