It was truly an honour and a privilege to join my dear husband, H.E. Dr Bukola Saraki, in Cairo, Egypt, at the Afreximbank Farewell and Investiture Conference and Ceremonies this past week. 

As the iconic African multilateral institution marked both Professor Benedict Okey Oramah’s thirty-one years of dedicated service and a decade of transformational presidential leadership, and welcomes the incoming presidency of Dr George Elombi in carrying forward the vision to stimulate a consistent expansion, diversification, and development of African trade, while operating as a first-class, profit-oriented, socially responsible financial institution and recognised centre of excellence in African trade matters, I was deeply inspired by the continued clarity of purpose to expand, diversify, and industrialise African trade, and particularly heartened by the Bank’s operational adherence to its Charter, which conforms with globally recognised best practice in governance matters, equally as the Bank’s community of shareholders, partners, and clients are required to operate under internationally acceptable governance standards in order to reinforce institutional credibility, safeguard investor confidence, and strengthen the resilience of Africa’s financial architecture.

Over the course of President Oramah’s tenure, Afreximbank’s catalytic leadership accelerated the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, strengthened the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System to enable cross-border trade in local currencies, established the AfCFTA Adjustment Fund to support participating states in a smooth transition, convened the biennial Intra-African Trade Fair to unlock trade and investment intelligence, deployed digital platforms through the Africa Trade Gateway, and harmonised critical industrial standards including pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, thereby easing the movement of goods across the continent and reinforcing the enabling environment for equitable access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and essential health commodities.

These interventions, once considered aspirational, now stand as tangible pillars of Africa’s economic self-determination. Afreximbank’s support to industrial parks, special economic zones, and world-scale industrial capacity, such as the Dangote Refinery and petrochemical complex, has begun to expand Africa’s export base and create value-added enterprise where none previously existed, while its decisive role in enabling Africa’s COVID-19 response demonstrated both solidarity and sovereign capability at a moment of unprecedented need.

Equally significant is the Bank’s championing of clinical infrastructure through the African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja, the first of a planned network of facilities across the continent, developed in partnership with King’s College Hospital London. With its initial 170-bed specialist capacity and eventual expansion to approximately 500 beds, cutting-edge diagnostics in oncology, cardiology, and haematology, and the largest stem-cell laboratory in West Africa, the AMCE embodies an emerging understanding that economic transformation must be underpinned by health security, clinical capability, and the wellbeing of our citizens. By reducing the outflow of patients seeking care abroad, retaining specialised talent, creating high-skilled jobs, and anchoring research, training, and pharmaceutical value chains within Africa, the AMCE contributes directly to productivity, prosperity, and continental resilience.

I was delighted to witness the congratulatory moments, valedictory tributes, and warm celebration of a community that has grown into a formidable network of public, private, and sovereign partners, whose heritage and prosperity stand as a testament to what Africa can achieve when vision meets execution and unity replaces fragmentation. 

As Afreximbank now looks to the stewardship of Dr George Elombi, I am encouraged by the continued commitment to harnessing Global Africa, including our diaspora, our creative industries, and our cultural heritage, as the foundation for shared economic power, cultural renewal, and collective resilience, and by the recognition that the social determinants of wellbeing are integral to the continent’s long-term competitiveness.

My warmest congratulations to Professor Oramah on a decade of extraordinary leadership, and to Dr Elombi as he assumes the mantle for a new era of intra-African trade, industrial transformation, and continental prosperity.

 

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