Opening Statement
- Yesterday, we were captivated by the extraordinary performance of the Mansa Musa Group. They are dedicated to telling Africa’s story in the way Africans wish it to be told.
- We owe them our sincere thanks for taking us down memory lane and reminding us of the greatness of the African continent and its people. MANSA MUSA KEITA was celebrated as the wealthiest man in human history. He embodied a timeless truth: that we possess the human spirit and the resources to build a prosperous continent. So, if there is any right that we Africans cannot—and must never—claim, it is the right to remain poor, for we were never poor.
- That is why we gathered here today in large numbers. To witness and endorse what the transfer of leadership, and beyond that, what exceptional leadership can do.
- Oramah’s legacy may not be defined by the historic wealth of Mansa Musa, but by two things just as profound as Musa Keita’s wealth and the faith that took him travelling from Niani to the Arabian desert. Oramah’s legacy is a different kind of wealth: the wealth that inspires Africans to action; the spirit that ignites hope; and the bold, courageous leadership that demonstrates how aspirations can be transformed into tangible achievements.
- These achievements, Mr. Chairman, also involved three other groups of people whose contribution I would like to emphasize. First, the shareholders, the owners of this great institution. You have made extraordinary sacrifices. These are long to enumerate. Your last major sacrifice – putting aside for a moment your decision to appoint me as President – was the 2.4 billion US dollars capital injection you made in 4 years. That represents more than 92% of the 2.6 billion you promised. That is a resounding success, for two reasons: first you made the contributions at a time of severe economic shocks, when other priorities, important economic and social priorities, were calling out for your attention. Secondly, you have completed your contributions over 1 year ahead of the expiry date. There is no more powerful way to convey your determination to see this institution survive.
- The second group is the staff of the Bank. In his farewell message to the staff, Professor Oramah stated that a General is only as good as his officers and soldiers. Although at the Bank we each recognize that it is a very special privilege to serve your cause, I will like to take this opportunity to thank your employees for the extraordinary sense of sacrifice. The Board of Directors, the Management of Afreximbank is the third group. I have served your institution for a long-time. At management level we would like to thank you for the quality of the men and women you appoint to the Board. They are your eyes & ears, the guiding spirits of what you want out of this institution. We are fortunate to have had among the best that the continent has on offer. Their understanding of the challenges facing the continent is extraordinary. Unless they saw the urgency in the Covid-interventions, we would not be able to approve a 2 billion dollar facility in a few days!
Current Legacy and Bridge to the Future - Distinguished Ladies & Gentlemen,
The institution you created 32 years ago has achieved much. At the Board meeting on Thursday, President Oramah outlined some of the achievements of the last ten years only. They are extraordinary:
(i) total assets and guarantees grew more than eight-fold between September 2015 and April 2025, to reach $43.5 billion;
(ii) total Revenues also rose seven folds, reaching $3.24 billion in 10 years;
(iii) net income amounted to about $1 billion at the end of 2024, about 700% increase from the level 10 years ago;
(iv) internal capital generation and very strong support of shareholders through additional equity investment, saw shareholders’ funds rise from about $1 billion in September 2015 to $7.5 billion in April 2025, with callable capital reaching $4.5 billion from $450 million in September 2015;
(v) created subsidiaries, including the Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA), AfrexInsure and others, that are becoming additional sources of revenues for the Bank; and
(vi) Covid interventions, investments in export processing and other economic zones, refineries and medical centres, the AfCFTA and youth-central creative agenda, a pan-African trade fair, etc. - Those have been some of the achievements of the institution since creation. My first commitment to you is to preserve those achievements.
- When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, you asked us for vaccines, and we delivered them across the African continent and the Caribbean. When the conflict in Ukraine unleashed global economic turmoil, you turned to your bank for financial support, and it mounted the fastest and largest crisis response in the Bank’s history, deploying billions of dollars in emergency funding through our various facilities to help member states cushion the economic shocks and protect vulnerable communities. You called upon us for a continental payment system to financially integrate Africa, and we delivered the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS).
- In response to the mandate you gave us to help transform the structure of Africa’s trade, we are actively catalyzing investments in Special Economic Zones across the continent. One such SEZ was established in Benin — a country ranked among the world’s top 10 cotton producers and the fourth-largest producer of cashew nuts globally, yet primarily exporting these commodities in raw form — and in just 18 months, the country transitioned from exporting raw cotton to producing finished textiles and garments, resulting in a 24% increase in manufactured exports, support for over 116,000 farmers, and the creation of 12,000 new jobs. Similarly, the Adétikopé Industrial Platform in Togo has boosted the country’s manufactured exports by 10%, supported 13,000 farmers, and created more than 3,000 new jobs. We supported wood processing in Gabon, and within months, the country banned the export of raw logs, generating 8,000 direct and 12,000 indirect jobs. In Nigeria, the Dangote Refinery — for which Afreximbank was the primary lender — is transforming Africa’s energy landscape and advancing the continent’s journey toward self-sufficiency. In healthcare, a sector once deemed unbankable, the Bank has redefined what is possible through the establishment of the African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja — a facility that is more than just a medical centre; it stands as a powerful symbol of our aspiration for health sovereignty.
- Additionally, Afreximbank has also played a central role in Africa’s economic integration. The AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, the Transit Guarantee Scheme, alongside other critical initiatives, including the Intra-African Trade Fair, the Africa Trade Exchange, Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) Programme and the Diaspora Programme. These are just a few examples. Without Afreximbank, many of these initiatives either would not have been launched, or would have faced significantly slower progress and far greater risks.
Vision for the Future - This is therefore an occasion to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to carrying forward this legacy — to deepening our impact, strengthening our partnerships, and continuing the mission of building an Africa that trades with itself and thrives on its own terms. The mandate of the Bank is, as set out in the Charter, to promote and facilitate Africa’s trade. The structure of that trade is disfavourable to Africa. It has to change. It is too dependent on the export of commodities. Our mission is therefore to transform the structure of that trade. To change the structure, we must process. We must produce. Unless we produce, we cannot trade.
- At Afreximbank we believe that the future of Africa lies in value addition, in producing and trading intermediate and finished goods that generate wealth and create jobs within our own borders.
- That in mind, let me outline the areas we will prioritize over the next 5 to 10 years. We believe these sectors will have the most significant and sustained impact on our trade and well-being. These would constitute the defining path of my leadership.
- First, we will Promote and Accelerate Value Addition and Strategic Minerals Processing: We will work to stop the export of raw potential. By transforming what we produce, building regional value chains, and fostering homegrown industries, we can create jobs, retain wealth, and drive growth across the continent. We will focus on developing strategic industries that can drive industrialization and job creation. Afreximbank will, therefore, create a new, high-impact financing window specifically for projects that process raw minerals into semi-finished goods or finished goods. We will establish a Strategic Minerals Development Programme to finance entire value chains, from extraction and refining to manufacturing finished components. Instead of simply exporting raw lithium from the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance, we will finance factories to produce lithium-ion batteries locally, capturing much more value here at home and creating high-skilled jobs for our people. Instead of exporting raw bauxite from __ Guinea, Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, or South Africa, we will focus on domestic processing. The benefits are numerous: infrastructure, wealth-creation, forex earnings, etc.
- Second, Deepening Intra-African Trade and Regional Integration: The success of our value addition agenda will ultimately depend on our ability to secure markets for the goods we produce. In this regard, the AfCFTA represents a vital platform for advancing value addition and export manufacturing. We will intensify efforts to break down trade barriers, strengthen cross-border infrastructure, and foster seamless movement of goods, services, people, and capital across our continent. Afreximbank will therefore continue to play a catalytic role in the implementation of the AfCFTA by driving forward key programmes and initiatives developed over the past decade, and by introducing new, targeted interventions, where necessary, to accelerate progress. To address the lack of capacity that hinders many countries and SMEs from fully leveraging the AfCFTA, we will under my leadership scale up our support via the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) digital market ecosystem. Through a dedicated, ATG-AfCFTA Accelerator Programme, we will provide direct technical support, market intelligence, and tailored financing to help African SMEs navigate the complexities of cross-border trade and truly benefit from the continental free trade area.
- Third, Catalyzing and Building Critical Trade-Enabling Infrastructure: A fragmented and dilapidated infrastructure network from roads and railways to ports, and power grids remains a major bottleneck to intra-African trade and a significant driver of the high logistics costs on our continent. We will accelerate investments in critical trade-enabling infrastructure projects that directly facilitate trade and connect African markets to one another. This includes not just highways and rail lines, but also modernized seaports, expanded warehousing and inland container depots, renewable energy projects, and specialized logistics hubs and energy pipelines. Energy is the engine that will drive Africa’s trade transformation—powering industries, connecting markets, and enabling our continent to move from being a source of raw materials to a hub of production and innovation. We will take a proactive, partnership-driven approach to financing and facilitating both hard infrastructure (transport, energy, logistics) and soft infrastructure (digital platforms, streamlined regulatory systems). Priority will be given to infrastructure that links production centres, with markets to unlock trade potential and lower the cost of doing business. Our interventions will be smart and innovative, tailored to the realities of Africa’s trade- projects- leveraging public-private partnerships, innovative financing structures, and regional coordination to ensure these investments have maximum impact. A key initiative under my leadership will be the creation of a Shared Integrated Infrastructure Ecosystem for Trade, aimed at leveraging existing trade-enabling infrastructure capacity cost-effectively. Instead of each country building from scratch, we will catalyse the expansion of infrastructure in countries with ample capacity to serve neighboring nations that lack the resources to develop such facilities independently. This collaborative approach ensures that all countries, regardless of their current capacity, benefit from improved market access, enhanced connectivity, and lower trade costs. Rather than duplicating efforts, we will build smart, interconnected systems that amplify existing strengths, boost regional efficiency, and drive deeper economic integration across the continent.
- Fourth, Leveraging Innovation and Digital Technology is another important area: Innovation and digital technology are potent forces for change in Africa’s economic landscape and offer a direct way to leapfrog persistent developmental challenges, dismantle barriers to trade, improve efficiency, and create new opportunities for growth. Innovation-driven digital technology solutions provide new models for reconfiguring economic transformation, regional integration, and value addition, bridging the trade finance gap, enabling market access and intelligence, expanding financial inclusion, propelling youth economic empowerment and entrepreneurship through fintech revolution. Together, they create an environment where African businesses can compete globally while strengthening regional economic integration. We must therefore embrace and invest in digital infrastructure, platforms, and technologies, from ecommerce and payment platforms to advanced analytics and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to create seamless digital ecosystems that unlock Africa’s full economic potential. Afreximbank has already launched and commercialized some of these digital infrastructure and ecosystems that support trade including the Africa Trade Exchange (ATEX), Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) and PAPSS. Under my leadership, we will continue to scale and strengthen our digital initiatives and programmes. I will elevate artificial intelligence as a priority to leverage its transformative potential in intra-African trade and regional integration, promote value addition, industrial parks, and smart manufacturing, create economic opportunities and growth, and enhance internal operations and efficiency. In a rapidly evolving global financial landscape propelled by the marked shift to digital finance and trade, and given the potentials of instant digital currency and stablecoin solutions that speak directly to the demands of the 21st-century digital economy, I must ask: Should we not now explore the creation of a Pan-African Digital Currency, including a Stablecoin, to strengthen financial integration and innovation across the continent and to truly own our economic destiny in the digital age? To deliver on our innovation and digital transformation ambitions, I will integrate and tightly align our organizational strategy, innovation and digital transformation into a unified vision of strategic coherence and execution that will be central to our future growth and to more effectively leverage innovation and digital technology to realize the vision of transforming the structure of Africa’s trade and driving Africa’s economic development.
- Fifth, Mobilizing Global African Capital: Mr. Chairman, Honourable Ministers, your Excellencies, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, through bold and decisive actions, we are rebuilding the once-broken ties between Africa and people of African descent around the world. These courses of action fulfil the centuries-old aspiration of Pan-Africanists such as Marcus Garvey, Kwame Nkrumah, W.E.B. Du Bois, George Padmore, Edward Blyden, and many others who have long advocated for the reunification of all people of African descent. The presence here today of the Honourable Terrance Drew, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts, is an undeniable testimony of the advances already made. We are therefore pleased that African and CARICOM leaders are inclined to create a Global Africa Commission to serve as a platform for building consensus to tackle our shared challenges and accelerate integration. It will also deepen trade, investment, and economic cooperation. The commission will be under the distinguished chairmanship of His Excellency, President Obasanjo, and Honourable P.J. Patterson. We extend our sincere appreciation to the leaders of CARICOM for driving this momentum.
- It is no coincidence that the Commission’s composition gives prominence to Africans in the Caribbean, underscoring our belief in the movement toward One Global Africa. By “Global Africa,” we mean not only those on the continent but also our brothers and sisters of African heritage in the Caribbean, Latin America (including Brazil and Colombia), the United States and elsewhere around the globe. The long-aspired integration of our communities will be realized when Africans everywhere can share in common economic opportunities. As this unity deepens and we see one another as brothers and sisters, the vision of a Global Africa will flourish, barriers will fall, and doors will open. Governments will facilitate freer movement, including more open visa policies, and people-to-people connections will flourish. This is the essence of the Global Africa we are building together.
- We have built a capacity for internal capital generation, but fresh capital injection will help rapidly expand and accelerate the Bank’s contribution to the continent’s economic transformation. In this regard, we will continue to rely on our shareholders, African governments, CARICOM governments, the private sector and institutional investors to deploy untapped. Global African resources and Global African capital will therefore be made to work for Global African development. Too often, African wealth – whether held by our diaspora, our businesses, or our own governments’ sovereign funds – is invested elsewhere in the world. We will intensify efforts to connect this vast pool of capital from sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, diaspora investors, or private equity back to Africa’s growth. Afreximbank will create innovative financial instruments, trusted co-investment platforms, and a pipeline of bankable African projects that allow African capital to flow into African opportunities. This is not just about financing—it is about ownership and about redefining the narrative of African development. It is time for Africa’s wealth—wherever it resides—to work for Africa’s future.
- Come to think of it, is it not now time to consider the creation of a Pan-African Sovereign Wealth Virtual Fund Network—a dynamic platform for pooling Africa’s capital and channeling it toward transformative investments across the continent? Should we not, as Africans, work together to direct our collective wealth into cross-border infrastructure and pan-African industrial ventures that will strengthen our shared prosperity and accelerate the continent’s integration? Imagine, for instance, the sovereign wealth funds of Algeria and Egypt co-investing in a transcontinental gas pipeline, with Afreximbank providing guarantees or co-financing to ensure its success. Are these not the kinds of bold, collaborative initiatives we must now embrace to ensure that African resources truly fuel African development?
- Sixth, Financial Strength is another important focus area: Mr. Chairman, Honourable Ministers, your Excellencies, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, at my appointment, our shareholders set an ambitious goal, to grow Afreximbank’s balance sheet to US$250 billion within ten years. As we consulted further with a few African leaders — including His Excellency, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, a major shareholder and strong supporter of the Bank — an even more ambitious target emerged. He challenged us to aspire to reach US$350 billion.
- This, therefore, is not just about numbers. It is a call for impact, for a momentous change. It reflects a sense of urgency among our heads of state to build a financially strong and globally relevant African institution. It also demonstrates the deep trust and confidence they have in Afreximbank as a systemic institution for Africa’s development, one they are committed to supporting under all circumstances. And for this, we will not disappoint! With the same drive that has brought us this far, we will rise to meet the expectations of our shareholders and the continent’s leadership. We recognize that only a strong and well-capitalized institution can make the scale of interventions required to transform Africa’s trade and development landscape. Consider this: without a large and resilient financial institution like Afreximbank, how could we have financed oil, gas and mining projects worth more than $12 billion across West, Southern and Central Africa over the past two years? How would it have been possible to invest another $2 billion in manufacturing projects across East and North Africa during the same period? These are the results of focus, scale, and determination. We will rely on our internal resources and the continued support of our shareholders.
- But what gives us confidence that such growth is attainable within a relatively short timeframe? The answer lies in our strategic focus on export processing and industrialization, the engines of wealth creation and value addition. When we invest in processing, we add value; when we add value, we create wealth; and when we create wealth, we expand our capacity to reinvest. A growing base of retained earnings strengthens our balance sheet, enabling us to disburse more funds for high-impact projects, which in turn generate wealth and drive further growth.
- We will explore all avenues – new shareholder equity, retained earnings, co-lending frameworks, and asset management – to multiply the resources we can bring to Africa. In doing so, we will keep a vigilant eye on the Bank’s stability and creditworthiness. Growth must go hand-in-hand with sound risk management and real development impact. Every dollar on our balance sheet must translate into positive change on the ground, in line with our mandate.
- Seventh, Growing Strategic and Innovative Partnerships: Our partnerships with relevant development institutions remain central to the Bank’s mission of advancing Africa’s trade and economic transformation. We recognize that Africa’s progress depends not only on the strength of individual institutions, but also on the power of collaboration among them. In this regard, our partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) continues to be of enormous strategic value. We are particularly delighted by the appointment of the new President of the AfDB, a longstanding friend of Afreximbank, who has previously served as President of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and as a member of the Afreximbank Board. His deep understanding of Africa’s development finance landscape gives us renewed confidence in the future of our collaboration. We are also working to deepen our engagement with the African Alliance of Multilateral Financial Institutions, including partners such as the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), Africa50, Africa Reinsurance Corporation, Shelter-Afrique Bank, ATIDI, and others. By strengthening these alliances, we aim to build a cohesive African financial ecosystem capable of delivering large-scale, cross-border solutions to Africa’s most pressing trade and development challenges. Equally, our renewed partnerships with the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat continue to anchor our commitment to continental integration. Through these partnerships, Afreximbank will continue to provide practical financial and institutional support to accelerate intra-African trade, industrialization, and the creation of a single, prosperous African market.
- In addition, we remain grateful for the strong collaboration with our international development funding partners, including the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), BADEA, and several others. Their support and trust have been instrumental in expanding Afreximbank’s capacity to deliver impactful, trade-enabling projects across Africa. As we move forward, Afreximbank will continue to build, strengthen, and expand these partnerships, because we know that Africa’s success will be defined not by isolated efforts, but by shared vision, shared resources, and shared commitment to the continent’s development.
- The details of specific programmes and interventions under the agenda outlined will be substance of the 7th strategic plan that will be developed in 2026.
Key Challenges, Threats and Opportunities - Mr. Chairman, Honourable Ministers, Your Excellencies, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, the threats to African multilateral financial institutions are becoming increasingly apparent, increasingly hostile; a direct attack on their preferred creditor status (PCS). This situation represents a direct challenge to the institutions that are owned and controlled by Africans at all times. Make no mistake, it is a coordinated attack on African sovereignty and on the existence of these institutions, a neo-colonial practice that has undermined Africa’s development for the last three centuries.
- We recognize that there will be challenges to these objectives. Most will be due to the financial, economic, and political environment. Afreximbank, like most financial institutions, have developed mechanisms to respond and adjust to these challenges. In fact, your Bank has developed its own special mechanisms for these recurrent challenges. That if why it has gained a reputation as a counter-cyclical institution. A particular type of challenge is new. It is not driven nor is it justified by the economic environment. It is not of a general nature. It is targeted at African multilateral institutions owned and controlled by Africans. The attacks have become increasingly hostile.
- What is strange and ironical is that these attacks are not because we fail or are seen as another African failure. It is because we are successful. The more relevant we become, the more disruptive we are considered to be in some quarters.
- Excuses have been advanced. We are misguidedly accused us of playing in fields that are supposedly the preserve of others, a phenomenon they have creatively called “mission drift” or “mission creep”. Some observers argue that Afreximbank should confine itself strictly to trade finance, overlooking the deeper realities of Africa’s economic landscape. But this view fundamentally misunderstands our mandate. It is even inconsistent with a literal reading of Afreximbank’s charter. How can Africa trade unless it produces? And how can it produce without transforming the very structure of its trade? This structural transformation — building capacity, enabling production, and strengthening value chains — is not mission drift; it is mission delivery.
- Sorry to say that these naysayers are seemingly oblivious to the Bank’s establishment history and mandate. By way of reminder, the foundation of Afreximbank’s establishment is “TO CHANGE THE STRUCTURE OF AFRICAN TRADE”. Those who see the Bank as a mere financier of commodities haven’t read the Charter.
- Unlike other multilateral institutions, Afreximbank’s PCS is not granted out of goodwill or benevolence of governments but enshrined in its Establishment Treaty, signed by all Member states. The Bank’s Treaty is unequivocal that no Member state could place a moratorium on its assets or loans, nor could any member state grant preferential treatment to other International institution over the Bank.
- They have also suggested that the cost of our loans is high. Hence, it would not merit a Preferred Creditor Treatment. But what they have failed to point out is the actual cost of their so-called concessional loans?
– conditionalities that cause job losses and push young men and women onto the streets
– drive economic circumstances that create civil and political disturbances,
– reforms that restrict or prevent public investments in productive sectors, such as value addition and industrialisation;
– and heightened commodity dependence. - Let us be clear: these coordinated attacks are a testament to our success. We are dismantling orthodoxy, delivering impacts and providing alternative sources of short and medium-term trade and development financing to Africans, thereby reducing dependence on growth-inhibiting aid and grants. If Prof Okey Oramah, President Ekra, President Edordu, and the Bank’s Board had caved and failed to deliver the financial and development success, we would not be facing such attacks. The narrative would have been the usual ‘Africa’s inability to manage its own affairs. Why should Africa’s development pose such a grave threat to others this much?
- Mr. Chairman, if Africa is to realize its trade and development ambitions, accelerate export diversification, fulfil the promise of the AfCFTA, and transition toward a more inclusive and sustainable economy, there is no doubt that value addition must be at the heart of that journey. I am convinced that a strong, integrated industrial base is the foundation for Africa’s inclusive, sustainable, and competitive future. Africa’s future lies in sourcing and processing production inputs within the continent. By adding value to our abundant natural resources, Africa can build resilient industries, supply both regional and global manufacturers, and create sustainable jobs for our people.
Closing Remarks - Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Honourable Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, for sparing time from his busy schedule to chair this swearing in ceremony.
- I extend my sincere gratitude to the people and Government of Egypt—my generous hosts for the past twenty-nine years—for providing my family and me with a welcoming second home. I am especially thankful for their unwavering support of my candidature for the Presidency, a gesture I will always hold in the highest regard. I am most grateful to H.E. Hassn Abdalla, Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt for honouring us with your presence. This is a testament to the strong support of the Egyptian Government to the Bank and the enduring strength of our relationship.
- Mr. Chairman, the overwhelming support I received from all shareholders at the time of my appointment was truly historic. As we commemorate that moment today, I want to express my deep gratitude to each and every shareholder. I assure all member states and shareholders that I fully understand the weight and significance of that endorsement. We consider ourselves extremely privileged to serve as custodians of this collective vision, entrusted with the responsibility to advance Africa’s trade, integration, and development.
- I also wish to thank the outgoing President and Chairman of the Board, Professor Benedict Okey Oramah, the Executive Management and all the members of the Board for the excellent work they have done in overseeing the affairs of the Bank.
- I also extend my gratitude to H.E. Selma Malika Haddadi and the leadership of the African Union Commission for the strong solidarity shown in this weekend. Special thanks and also due to Hon. Prime Minister Terrence Drew who travelled several thousands of miles to participate in this event. It is a testament of your belief in the Global African Initiatives.
- Afreximbank is, above all, about its people. The exceptional team carefully built by my predecessors has been nothing short of outstanding. Throughout my journey at the Bank, I have been fortunate to receive unwavering support and collaboration from many colleagues, with whom I have developed not only strong professional relationships, but also lasting bonds founded on mutual respect and a shared purpose.
- I am deeply grateful to all of you for the roles you’ve played in my journey and in any success I have achieved. But let me emphasize that this mission is a shared responsibility. The road ahead is ambitious, and it cannot be walked alone. I will continue to count on your unwavering support, your insights, and the collective wisdom we bring together as a team, as we move forward with purpose and unity.
- Mr. Chairman, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, before I conclude, I want to acknowledge those who provide the invisible and silent platform that undergirds my work and gives me confidence to stand here today. My Anchor, my wife, Ebi Elombi, and my three lovely children, Esongkuo, Ebenewo, and Arah, have made tremendous personal sacrifices and have supported me throughout my career. I am glad they are able to share in the joy of this moment. I hope that their support will remain steadfast and unshakeable as ever as I take on the challenges of my new office.
- I am extremely happy to be surrounded today by so many dear friends. This has been a journey of many years and each and everyone of you knows full well that I wouldn’t have made it this far without your support and encouragement. Your presence here is deeply meaningful to me.
- Finally, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank members of the press for joining us here today. I hope that you will give the event the positive coverage it deserves and help us share the significance of this occasion with the broader public.
- As I bring these remarks to a close, I offer my heartfelt appreciation to each one of you. With your continued partnership, we will remain resolute. Guided by our common principles and bound by a shared mission, we stand at a defining moment—ready to shape Africa’s destiny, together.
Thank you.