E-Financial
UBA Unveils 30 Students as 2019 Campus Ambassadors
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Pan African financial institution, on Friday unveiled 30 students as UBA Brand Ambassadors for 2019 in the third edition of its Campus Ambassador Programme.
The 30 students made up of 17 males and 13 females, chosen from various tertiary institutions across Nigeria, were selected based on a number of carefully-defined criteria including clear leadership and creative skills as well as the keen ability to promote the UBA brand as campus ambassadors.
UBA’s Campus Ambassador Programme is UBA’s initiative to identify young emerging leaders from tertiary institutions across the country and give them a unique and highly rewarding learning experience while also grooming them to be effectual leaders in their societies and country at large.
The programme is also an opportunity for the bank to give back to students who remain a core component of the bank’s legacy.
Anant Rao, group head, Digital and Consumer Banking, United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc, who spoke at the unveiling ceremony held at the bank’s Head Office in Lagos on Friday, explained that the UBA Campus Ambassador programme offered a unique opportunity to students of tertiary institutions in Nigeria to be part of a dynamic and forward-thinking Pan-African bank by representing the brand both within and outside the campus.
He noted that the programme is designed to be a win-win for both the students and the bank as it presents a learning experience and a highly rewarding pursuit for selected students, while providing them with a platform to display their leadership capabilities and showcase their diverse talents which will in turn drive further growth to the bank.
Speaking to the students, he said, “We are glad because since we began this programme a few years ago, the narrative has indeed changed. We are now seen as a bank for the young and vibrant and we have been able to develop leadership skills, creativity among the youth. And so with your successful selection, I am happy to say that your learning experience has already begun. You are now expected to exhibit the core values of the bank, show the spirit of excellence, execution and enterprise in whatever you do.”
Continuing, he said, “We believe that the youths are the future of every country so we selected the best from the universities to collaborate with them to build their leadership skills and creative skills so that they can be better leaders in the future, whether they choose to operate in the public sector or the private sector,” he said.
Rao explained that the students were selected after an assessment to ensure that they possess the qualities that UBA prides itself in, adding “You need to show that you have the spirit of enterprise, excellence and that you do what you say you will do, which is execution. These qualities are dear to us and to what we stand for here in UBA. And, because these people now represent the brand, they must also share this passion and be able to project the brand and what UBA stands for that is our core values.
Tomiwa Sotiloye, UBA’s Head Retail Liabilities, explained that the students will undergo necessary training and will be expected to execute specific projects meant to add value to the environments. This, he added, will help the students to understand intently all that is expected of them as brand ambassadors of the bank.
He thereafter charged them to be good leaders and positive influencers who should stand out by ensuring that the bank’s reputation soars high in their respective campuses and beyond.
He said, “We know that we have selected the best out of all those of those who applied to be part of this programme, and so we expect nothing short of the best from you as you take your studies seriously, add value to your schools and the society at large and represent the UBA brand in positive light always.”
The selected students from Ahmadu Bello University are: Abbas Shaibu, Nafisat Mogaji, Sharifah Muhammad; Faisal Shuaib, Ibrahim Muhammed. Justina Adeogun and Dennis Fanijo from Bayero University, Kano; Blessing Emah, Fadekemi Ajibola, Opeyemi Olowogbade, Oluwatotobiloba Awofolaju, Oluwaseun Ijaseun from Obafemi Awolowo University; Alice Gbobo and David Jim, from Rivers State University; Eunice Edeoghon and Precious Nzeakor from University of Benin.
From the University of Ibadan, Damilola Onaiyekan and Oscar-Romero Izuka were selected; while Aboyowa Johnson, Princewill Nwachukwu, Ezenwoke Nwosu and Oluwalayomi Azeez came from the University of Lagos. From the University of Port Harcourt came Justice Anthony, Olubusayo Faluyi, Blessing Elikor and Belema Agbake; while Chukwuebuka Orjiakor, and Ifeoma Atuonah came from Nnamdi Azikiwe University. Deborah Ajana and Esther Afu-Adajo were selected from Lagos State University.
United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading pan-African financial services group, operating in 20 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and with presence in France.
UBA was incorporated in Nigeria as a limited liability company after taking over the assets of the British and French Bank Limited who had been operating in Nigeria since 1949.
The United Bank for Africa merged with Standard Trust Bank in 2005 and from a single country operation founded in 1949 in Nigeria – Africa’s largest economy – UBA has become one of the leading providers of banking and other financial services on the African continent.
The Bank which was awarded the Best Digital Bank in Africa by the Euromoney awards in 2018, provides services to over 17 million customers globally, through one of the most diverse service channels in sub-Saharan Africa, with over 1,000 branches and customer touch points and robust online and mobile banking platforms.
The shares of UBA are publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Bank has a well-diversified shareholder base, which includes foreign and local institutional investors, as well as individual shareholders.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced a nationwide enlightenment campaign to help Nigerians recover unclaimed dividends and other monies arising from capital market transactions.
The campaign, which began with a town hall meeting in Lagos on Thursday, is aimed at sensitising investors on the existence of unclaimed monies, the role of the National Investor Protection Fund (NIPF) and the procedures for verifying and recovering legitimate claims.
Emomotimi Agama, director-general of SEC, who was represented at the event by Hafsat Rufai, director, Registration and Exchanges, Market Infrastructure Department, said the initiative was necessary to ensure that funds belonging to investors were returned to their rightful owners.
Agama said unclaimed monies administered by the NIPF included return monies from public offers, scheme consideration from mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring transactions, as well as other funds belonging to investors that had remained unclaimed.
He noted that the Commission considered it unacceptable for investors’ funds to remain unclaimed, adding that many investors and their families were either unaware that such monies existed or did not know the procedures for recovering them.
Agama said the SEC Board had approved a nationwide public enlightenment campaign to sensitise Nigerians on unclaimed monies, the role of the NIPF and the process for making legitimate claims.
He said the Lagos programme marked the commencement of the outreach, which would subsequently cover the six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.
The director-general said the campaign would also address the transmission of securities following the death of an investor, noting that families were often unaware that their deceased relatives owned shares or other capital market investments.
He said even when beneficiaries were aware of such investments, many lacked knowledge of the legal and administrative procedures required to obtain probate or letters of administration and transmit the investments to the rightful beneficiaries.
Agama said the Lagos programme included an expert session on probate administration and the transmission of securities to demystify the process and provide practical guidance to investors and their families.
He urged investors to maintain proper records of their investments and encouraged families to take steps to preserve inherited wealth.
The SEC DG also warned Nigerians against Ponzi schemes and other fraudulent investment arrangements, saying fraudsters continued to exploit economic pressures and digital platforms to lure unsuspecting members of the public with promises of guaranteed and unusually high returns.
He urged the public to be cautious of investment opportunities offering risk-free returns, stressing that investor education and vigilance remained critical to combating financial fraud.
Speaking on behalf of Lawal Pedro, attorney-general and commissioner for Justice,Lagos State, Olujoke Ogunojemite, deputy director in the Ministry of Justice, commended the SEC for extending the campaign to Lagos and recognising the role of legal institutions in resolving issues relating to unclaimed dividends and other assets.
She said the issue had a practical impact on beneficiaries who were unable to access assets after the death of their loved ones.
Ogunojemite said the ministry was committed to ensuring that legal processes did not become barriers to beneficiaries seeking to recover legitimate assets.
She described the SEC’s outreach as commendable, saying it would help restore assets to their rightful beneficiaries.
World Bank has said that despite nearly three years of economic reforms by the federal government, about 79 per cent of Nigerians remain poor or vulnerable to falling into poverty.
The bank stated this in its newly approved Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria, covering 2026 to 2032, and its accompanying Streamlined Country Diagnostic.
The report which highlighted the country’s deepening social and economic challenges, indicated that while recent macroeconomic reforms have helped stabilise the economy and restore investor confidence, the benefits have yet to translate into meaningful improvements in living standards for most Nigerians.
The World Bank noted that the seven-year strategy seeks to support Nigeria’s ambition to create more and better jobs through private-sector-led growth while accelerating poverty reduction.
According to the Streamlined Country Diagnostic document, “Thirty-three per cent of its population is ultra-poor (food insecure by age-weighted caloric intake), 61 per cent is below the poverty line, and 79 per cent is near poor (below the poverty line or vulnerable to falling back into poverty).”
The World Bank pointed out that Nigeria’s economic performance over the past decade had been constrained by structural rigidities, policy missteps, dependence on crude oil, and repeated external shocks, leaving millions trapped in poverty.
It stated that about 139 million Nigerians currently live below the national poverty line, with poverty concentrated largely in the northern part of the country.
The report also noted that more than 86 million Nigerians remain without electricity, while three to four million young people enter the labour market every year with limited employment opportunities.
It added that sustaining macro-fiscal and structural reforms would be critical to reducing inflation, expanding fiscal space and ensuring that recent economic stabilisation translates into improved living standards.
According to the report, the reforms have begun to improve macroeconomic indicators.
Economic growth increased from 3.5 per cent in the first half of 2024 to 3.9 per cent during the corresponding period of 2025, foreign reserves exceeded $42bn, fiscal deficits narrowed, and investor confidence strengthened.
However, it warned that high inflation continues to undermine household incomes. The report stated, “High inflation, though declining, continues to erode real incomes, particularly for the poor. Social protection efforts to support the most vulnerable have been slow and uneven in their rollout.”
The World Bank added that although the reforms helped Nigeria avoid a more severe economic crisis, institutional weaknesses, weak policy coordination, and inadequate budget transparency continue to pose significant risks.
It warned that sustained reform implementation, backed by deeper structural measures, would be required to improve Nigeria’s medium-term economic outlook.
Under the new Country Partnership Framework, the World Bank said job creation would serve as the primary pathway for reducing poverty.
The report explained that international experience from countries such as India, Indonesia, and China shows that moving people into productive employment remains the most effective tool for reducing poverty.
To achieve this, the framework will prioritise labour-intensive sectors, particularly agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises, while addressing structural deficiencies in electricity, digital infrastructure, education and healthcare.
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) said the rollout of electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) will strengthen tax compliance, curb revenue leakages and improve transparency in tax administration as it moves to fully digitise the country’s tax system.
The Project Lead, NRS e-Invoicing Project, Mohammed Bawa, stated this at the DigiTax E-Invoicing Compliance Breakfast Session held in Lagos.
The event, organised by DigiTax, an NRS-accredited e-invoicing platform, formed part of efforts to support the agency’s ongoing education and sensitisation campaign on the e-invoicing mandate.
Bawa said the initiative aligns with global trends in tax digitization and is expected to help improve Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio, which remains one of the lowest in Africa.
According to him, the system will provide the NRS with greater visibility into transactions across sectors, formalise activities within the informal economy and standardise invoice formats nationwide using globally recognized invoice schemas.
He added that e-invoicing would improve operational efficiency for both businesses and tax authorities while supporting the NRS’ transition from manual and electronic tax administration processes to a fully automated system-to-system interaction model.
Bawa noted that the legal framework for implementation is backed by the Nigeria Tax Administration Act, which prescribes penalties for non-compliance.
He disclosed that the NRS has completed onboarding large taxpayers and is preparing to enforce compliance with defaulting entities.
According to him, medium taxpayers are expected to begin compliance in the third quarter of 2026, while onboarding of emerging taxpayers will commence in 2027, with full adoption targeted for all taxpayers by the end of 2028.
Bawa urged taxpayers yet to be onboarded onto the platform to begin the process and work with accredited service providers to ensure compliance.
Speaking at the event, Country Director of DigiTax Nigeria, Olumide Akinsola, urged businesses to look beyond their internal systems and assess the compliance status of suppliers and counterparties.
He warned that businesses whose suppliers fail to transmit invoices through the MBS platform risk losing eligibility to claim Value Added Tax (VAT) input credits on such transactions, describing the resulting supply chain exposure as a significant commercial risk that many organisations have yet to quantify.
Akinsola also announced the launch of DigiTax’s white paper, ‘The State of E-Invoicing Readiness in Nigeria,’ which examines compliance adoption trends and the readiness gap across different taxpayer segments.
He added that DigiTax operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), noting that experience from those markets shows businesses that integrate early are better positioned to avoid disruptions when enforcement begins.
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