CitiBank Propels Growth in Nigeria’s Aviation Sector
Citibank Nigeria Limited (Citi) said it recently hosted the Citi-Aviation forum aimed at driving treasury efficiency and propel growth in Nigeria’s aviation sector.
The event was tagged: “Leveraging Global Banking Trends for Smart Aviation in Nigeria.”
A statement from the international bank at the weekend, explained that the conference was well attended by over forty top executives from various airlines and regulators in Nigeria. “Citi remains committed to exploiting its global resources and expertise to provide thought leadership to its clients. The forum served as an excellent opportunity for Citi to share valuable insights on important banking trends and best practices for smart aviation in Nigeria. “Similarly, the conference provided a platform for interactive discussions between key aviation operators and regulators in the local market to deliberate on the emerging trends in Nigeria’s aviation sector,” the statement added.
Managing Director and CEO, Citibank Nigeria Limited, Mr. Omar Hafeez gave the opening remarks at the conference and highlighted on Citi’s leadership role in being the dominant bank for airline operators in Nigeria.
He also spoke about Citi’s commitment to improving the standard of aviation banking services in Nigeria to the benefit of all players in the industry including regulators, airlines and passengers.
Also, the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Akin Dawodu gave a macro overview on the recent market events in relation to the Nigerian economy.
He spoke on the latest changes in the regulatory framework for foreign exchange transactions, a subject of great interest to the forum attendees.
He also provided an outlook for likely economic trends in the rest of 2015 while stating the importance of the successful conduct of the recent elections.
On his part, IATA, Area Manager for South-West Africa, Mr. Samson Fatokun delivered a presentation at the conference and provided a synopsis of IATA’s activities in Nigeria as well as an outlook on the aviation industry in Africa.
Speaking at the conference Fatokun stated that “IATA has been the backbone of aviation training in Nigeria”.
He also confirmed that the global organisation had standardised the downstream sector of the aviation industry in Nigeria through the activities of its Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP), which has recorded the participation of over 700 Nigerian travel agencies.
Representative of the Director General of Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mr. Peter Adeola was also at the event to provide regulatory input from the aviation sector. Speaking at the forum he reassured the audience that adequate measures were in place by NCAA to ensure that compliance and best safety standards are implemented in Nigeria’s aviation industry.