CEM REPORT, FINANCE | The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has faulted its inclusion in the list of professional bodies whose funding was withdrawn by the federal government of Nigeria.
The Banking Institute made a categorical statement in a press release this week stating that they have never been funded by the government and that it is an error to have been included in a list being circulated by some online news media.
The press statement titled; Re: Discontinuation of Funding of professional bodies and councils by the Federal Government and signed by the President, Dr Ken Opara, CIBN stated thus:
“Attention of the Governing Council, Members and Management of our Institute has been drawn to the recent and widely publicised policy of the Federal Government notifying CONCERNED professional bodies and councils that it would cease to fund them beginning from the 2024 budget in line with the decisions of the Presidential Committee on Salaries (PCS).
“We have however observed that some online/digital news media have either erroneously or without validation included the name of The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) amongst the list of affected professional bodies in their reportage as against the valid full list released by the Federal Government through Budget Office of the Federation.
“It has therefore become imperative for the CIBN to clarify the position as a non-beneficiary of such funding since its sixty years of existence.
“The CIBN is a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) and has never received any subvention by way of budgetary allocation from the Federal Government Budgetary provisions.
“The CIBN is a creation of an Act of Parliament with statutory provisions to be self-financing through membership subscriptions & sponsorship from her Individual and Corporate members as well as through its various professional banking education activities and services. UNITY
“Whilst using this medium to correct the erroneous impression created by few news media, the Institute believes that the decision of the Federal Government is a good one in the right direction to promote and engender financial independence, sustainable funding, professionalism and ethics for national growth and development.”
The government had in a circular dated 26th June 2023 stated that budgetary allocations will no longer be made for professional bodies and councils, with effect from January 2024.
The government asked those affected to begin to make adjustments early so they can continue to run their organisations seamlessly after the government might have withdrawn its financial support.
