South-South injects N34tr into economy, says CIBN

• Group vows to recover $300m Ogoni compensation

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has revealed that the South-South region contributed a staggering N34 trillion to Nigeria’s economy in 2024, representing over 21 per cent of the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The President of the Institute, Prof. Pius Olanrewaju, disclosed this year at the South-South Zonal Banking and Finance Conference in Calabar, citing data from the Cable Data Index. He noted that the economic growth was driven not only by oil but also by expansions in trade, services, and creative industries.

Olanrewaju said: “To fully harness this potential, there must be coordinated financial, technological, and policy support. The financial system must serve as more than a capital source; it must drive innovation, ideas incubation, and inclusive growth.”

He challenged stakeholders to rethink the region’s economy beyond being just a resource belt, and praised Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, for pledging land for a CIBN secretariat in the state and for completing the Chartered Bankers Programme, the first for a sitting governor.

MEANWHILE, the Ogoni Liberation Initiative (OLI), a community-based organisation of Ogoni people, has vowed to recover the $300 million due compensation to the Ogoni people arising from the spillages of Oil Mining lease (OML 11) operations.

President of the initiative, Dr Douglas Fabeke, yesterday, in Port Harcourt, disclosed that after a protracted legal battle and following out of court settlement over the spillage of OML 11, where the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) was obligated to pay $300 million as compensation to Ogoni people, no concrete steps has been taken to fulfill the terms of the agreement by ensuring that victims access the funds.

He lamented that the Ogoni land remains a shadow of its potential, adding that the people still live in poverty, youths torn between hopelessness and frustration, yet the government’s insincerity in resolving the issues in Ogoni has prolonged the pains.

According to Fabeke, the fund, $300 million was allegedly paid to the Rivers State Government via an out of Court settlement under the administration of former Governor Nyesom Wike, instead of the Ogoni people, stating that the management of NNPCL has failed and that even the state government has failed to brief the people on the matter nor accounted for the fund.