The Chairman of Keystone Bank Limited, Adaora Chukwudozie, has advocated stronger institutions, responsible leadership and enterprise development as key drivers of Nigeria’s economic growth and industrial transformation.
Chukwudozie made the call following her conferment with an Honorary Fellowship by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) at its 2026 Fellowship Investiture held at Harbour Point, Victoria Island, Lagos.
In a statement issued by her Media Aide, Steve Onyebuchi, Chukwudozie expressed appreciation to the Institute for the recognition, describing it as an encouragement to deepen her contributions to institutional development, professional excellence and national economic advancement.
The investiture, themed “Bank Recapitalisation: Leveraging New Bank Capital for Nigeria’s Industrial Transformation,” brought together leaders from the banking, business and public sectors to examine how a stronger financial system could support industrial investment, enterprise expansion and sustainable economic growth.
Speaking at the event, the CIBN President and Chairman of Council, Dr Dele Alabi, urged banks to deploy their strengthened capital bases towards productive investments, particularly by expanding access to financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), to stimulate job creation and economic development.
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Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, emphasised the need for affordable, long-term financing to support industrial expansion and enterprise growth, while highlighting the importance of sound corporate governance and responsible lending practices.
Delivering the keynote address, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Dr Tayo Aduloju, called for increased financing of manufacturing and other productive sectors. He also stressed the need for stronger collaboration among financial institutions, government and regulatory agencies to address barriers to industrial investment.
The discussions came against the backdrop of Nigeria’s banking-sector recapitalisation programme, which seeks to strengthen financial institutions’ capacity to finance large-scale investments, improve economic resilience and expand access to credit.
Effective deployment of additional capital is expected to support manufacturing, infrastructure development, domestic production and economic diversification.
Other recipients of CIBN honours included the Chairman of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Mr Segun Ogunsanya; Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs Olubunmi Kuku; Vice Chairman of Famfa Oil Limited, Chief Folorunsho Alakija; Governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone, Dr Ibrahim Stevens; Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi; and Deputy Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor, Mr Samuel Egube.
Chukwudozie also serves as Group Managing Director of Dozzy Group and Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), South-East Branch. Her professional engagements across banking, manufacturing and enterprise development span sectors considered critical to Nigeria’s industrialisation, investment and economic diversification.
She said the recognition would further inspire her commitment to responsible leadership, institutional growth and the advancement of Nigeria’s economy.
