President Bola Tinubu has conferred one of Nigeria’s highest honors, Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON) on the outgoing President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Professor Benedict Oramah, for his outstanding contributions to the development of Nigeria and African region.
President Tinubu conferred the honour on Oramah on Friday at the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meetings in Abuja.
Under the leadership of Professor Oramah, Afreximbank became the trusted institution for mitigating the adverse impacts of economic shocks and the primary source of vital medium- to long-term financing for the African private sector and critical sectors of the African economy.
Tinubu said Oramah’s innovative and purposeful leadership has made Afrexbank the pillar of African Development.
He noted that Afreximbank under Oramah has grown its assets from $5 billion to over $43 billion in a good time.
“I have the honour and privilege to recognise you, the outstanding contribution of Professor Benedict Oramah, by conveying you with one of Nigeria’s highest, the Grand Commander of the Order of Niger,” Tinubu stated.
Under Oramah, Afreximbank built its East and West Africa regional trade Centre in Nigeria and built its first Afreximbank African Trade Centre (AATC).
The bank is also a major partner in the establishment of the proposed African Energy Bank that would be headquartered in Nigeria.
Afreximbank has provided significant credit facilities to Nigeria, with a total of approximately $52 billion in trade and development financing over the past 10 years. This makes Nigeria the bank’s largest beneficiary in Africa.
Oramah’s successor will be unveiled on Saturday, June 28th 2025 by the shareholders of the bank in Abuja.
