The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has said plans are underway to integrate banks’ Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) into the state’s security network to improve security within and outside the banking environments.
The governor also said his administration would collaborate with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on physical development and capacity building, for its relevant workforce in the state.
Makinde gave the remarks while receiving the CIBN team led by its President, Mr Bayo Olugbemi, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Governor’s Office, Agodi, Secretariat, Ibadan, on Thursday.
He commended the efforts of the institute and indeed the banking industry for its various contributions to the development of the state, especially towards ensuring an efficient and effective security system, saying his administration would continue to support the institution’s activities.
Makinde stated: “It will always be my pleasure to support CIBN activities. I believe some of the things you listed, like having you contribute to the budgetary process, is on currently. We invited CIBN and even other professional bodies. We went round the state to have stakeholders’ engagements at the local levels and all those inputs were added together for our budget. So, if you are not aware or it was not done through the proper channel, I think they are aware now and will do it.”
He disclosed that his administration would look into and take advantage of the request for the members of the civil service in the state to take advantage of training and retraining from the institute, as his administration has always given opportunities to people to improve themselves, saying his administration would also be willing to share experiences dealing with governance at both the state and the local government levels so that both sides would have benefits to take out of such interaction.
Makinde noted: “As an administration, we are pushing really hard on the security of lives and property and you will agree with me that banking environments are places that are vulnerable and prone to attacks. We have, through the Executive Assistant on Security, tried to reach out to banks around here to install CCTV cameras and basically integrate them into our own security network.”
Noting that ensuring security is a collective effort even though he may take responsibility for some of the lapses in the area of security, the governor promised to make land available for CIBN to build its Secretariat in Oyo State so as to allow the institution contribute to the expansion of the economy of the state.
Earlier in his remarks, the CIBN President, Mr Olugbemi, explained that the banking industry would continue to partner with the state government towards achieving its goal of taking Oyo State to greater heights.
Olugbemi said: “We want to appreciate your support to the banking industry by way of support and effective security system, which has provided an enviable environment for the banking and finance industry to thrive in the state. We are here to discuss how we can deepen the relationship with the Oyo State Government towards the growth and development of the state and the nation at large.”
Reiterating CIBN’s readiness to collaborate with the government in organising a yearly seminar on banking and allied matters for the Oyo State Judiciary, he affirmed that the CIBN would leverage its over 20 years’ experience of running similar programmes for all judges in the country, in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute.
Olugbemi further revealed that the institute would be most willing to partner with relevant ministries of the state government to enhance the capacity of their personnel in the area of banking and finance.
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