{"id":345695,"date":"2025-07-18T02:11:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-18T01:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=345695"},"modified":"2025-07-17T19:18:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T18:18:58","slug":"south-south-contributes-n34trn-to-nigerias-economy-in-2024-institute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/?p=345695","title":{"rendered":"South-South Contributes N34trn To Nigeria\u2019s Economy In 2024 \u2013 Institute"},"content":{"rendered":"<div dir=\"auto\">Prof. Pius Olanrewaju, President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), has stated that the South-South region contributes N34 trillion to country\u2019s economy in 2024.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">He made the remark at the South-South Zonal Banking and Finance Conference in Calabar, yesterday.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">He spoke on the theme, \u2018\u2019Building An Inclusive South-South: Economic Diversification as a Catalyst For Development.\u2019\u2019<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Olanrewaju, who quoted the data from the Cable Data Index, said the feat was more than 21 per cent of Nigeria\u2019s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP).<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">The president described the growth as \u2018\u2019 impressive,\u2019\u2019 saying that it was not driven by oil alone but significant expansions in trade, services, and the creative industries.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">According to him, to fully harness this potential, coordinated financial, technological, and policy support is essential.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u201cAs we work to reposition the South-South for broad-based prosperity, the financial system must play a central role, not merely as a source of capital, but as a catalyst for innovation, ideas incubation, and inclusive economic growth.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u201cThis conference, therefore, provides a strategic opportunity for stakeholders to re-imagine the South-South economy, not merely as a resource belt, but as a region of diverse capabilities and resilient enterprises.\u201d<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Olanrewaju added that Nigeria must move beyond old models and chart a new course for the development of the South-South region, where financial institutions and stakeholder collaborate to diversify the economy for shared prosperity.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">He, \u00a0however, commended Gov. Bassey Otu for his pledge of land for CIBN Secretariat in Cross River and being the first sitting governor to willingly undergo and complete the Chartered Bankers Programme.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">On his part, Gov. Otu said that the conference discussion on the economic diversification in South-South region was timely against the backdrop of global trade and economic volatility that was affecting the nation\u2019s economy.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Represented by his deputy, Mr Peter Odey, Otu said the South-South region must now act with urgency to diversify its economy while leveraging its shared natural endowment in agriculture and extractive resources.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u201cThis conference must help develop tailored financial solutions that reflect the unique strengths and realities of states like Cross River in the south-south.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\u201cDiversification should be evidence-based and must be backed not just by financial advice but project focused financing and real investment support,\u201d he noted.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">He said that Cross River had taken the bold step to invest in its agricultural sector by launching an Agro processing hub.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Otu further said that the state had invested in aviation by acquiring more aircrafts for Cally Air, construction of the Bakassi Deep Seaport and injecting N18 billion in its tourism sector.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Similarly, Mr Tolefe Jibunoh, Cross River Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said that the region was blessed with natural resources, cultural diversities and immense human potentials.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">Jibunoh, who was represented by Mr Segun Shittu, Head, Currency Control Office, CBN, Calabar, noted that strategic diversification could unlock unprecedented opportunities for growth in the region.<\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\"><\/div>\n<div dir=\"auto\">He added that the CBN remained steadfast to maintain monetary possibilities and promote a sound financial system as a catalyst for sustainable economic development for the benefit of all.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Prof. Pius Olanrewaju, President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), has stated that the South-South region contributes N34 trillion to country\u2019s economy in 2024. He made the remark at the South-South Zonal Banking and Finance Conference in Calabar, yesterday. He spoke on the theme, \u2018\u2019Building An Inclusive South-South: Economic Diversification as a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-345695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=345695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":345704,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/345695\/revisions\/345704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=345695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=345695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=345695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}