Int’l finance experts laud Aregbesola on Sukuk bond

Financial experts have commended Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, for embracing Sukuk.

Comparable to a bond in Western finance, Sukuk is a certificate that complies with Islamic religious law.

The commendation was made by Professor Ziyaad Mahomed of the Islamic Finance Institute of Southern Africa (IFISA), Dr. Mounir Aliya from Saudi Arabia, Managing Director, United Insurance, Sudan, Dr. Abdul Umar Mutallab, and Dr.Tarot Khali Osman.

At the African International Conference on Islamic Finance, held at Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, the experts spoke glowingly on the confidence and determination of Aregbesola in accessing the bond against all odds.

Dr Mutallab said: “Aregbesola embraced Sukuk when many states and countries lack deep understanding of what it really stands for. Osun has become a reference points to states and countries in West Africa with the Federal Government of Nigeria recently accessing N1b of Sukuk bond.”

Earlier in his presentation, Aregbesola explained that the decision to have a combination of both conventional and faith-based bond in its issuance programme in 2013 was borne out of desire to ensure easy marketability of the bond, and also exhibit the current administration’s transparency and accountability in its financial transactions.

The theme of the conference was: ‘Connecting People and the Capital Market through Ethical Finance (Impact and Innovation)’.