On the 16th of June 2016, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) held their 2016 Annual lecture tagged “Sustainable Development and the Financial Sector: The Meeting Point” by Minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed at the Ijewere Hall, Bankers House of their Victoria Island Office.
Though the minister was not present, she was represented by the Director-General, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, Dr. Adesola Adepoju. The minister in her lecture said that “for the SDGs to be reached, everyone needs to do their part, government, civil society and the private sector.” She also said that “Sustainable Development is about capital allocation and thus should be at the core of financial markets activity”.
The lecture was highly informative and gave clear indications that the minister and her team were deliberate in achieving a Sustainable Nigeria, she gave way forward approached for what the institute should be thinking towards some of which include:
- Focus on environmental impacts of financial products rather than mere impacts of internal operations
- Further use of EMS
- The need for Nigeria to take a lead role in improving the flow of environmental information relevant to the financial markets.
She ended by assuring us of the government’s support to create an enabling environment for bankers to achieve the SDGs.
A panel session followed shortly after the lecture with experts like Tunji Andrews, Iyadunni olubode, Prof. Segun Ajibola and Prof Eyitayo Lambo.