By Aruna Dumbuya
The West African Bankers Association (WABA) has at the end of its 78th Executive Council Meeting and 42nd General Assembly unanimously elected the Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank, Dr. Walton Ekundayo Gilpin as Vice President II of the association.
The twin event, held in Sierra Leone at the Freetown International Conference Centre, Aberdeen was hosted by the WABA Secretariat in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Association of Commercial Banks (SLACB) and Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL).
Senegal’s withdrawal from the prestigious Sub-regional group created a vacancy in the leadership structure of the organization and this effectively meant that, that country could no longer serve in the Executive Committee. Given the very crucial role of the 2nd Vice President in the effective running of the association, the group elected Dr. Walton Ekundayo Gilpin, a consummate Sierra Leonean banker who also doubles as President of the Sierra Leone Association of Commercial Banks.
Dr. Gilpin’s was nominated by WABA’s Vice President I, Dele Alabi from Nigeria and two Former WABA Secretary Generals – Alie Ceesay from the Gambia and Hanson Abosi from Nigeria. Their nomination was endorsed by the Registrar/Chief Executive Officer, Akin Morakinyo from the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN).
The two-days event featured presentations on Cross Border Settlement Systems, International Financial Reporting Standards including IFRS9, Risk Management Technology adoption, annual financial report, audit reports and subscriptions.
As a subregional body, WABA seeks to become the most impactful Bankers Association on the continent by 2030. To this end, it has been pivotal in supporting ECOWAS and other Subregional entities in a number of projects including the establishment of a single currency in West Africa.
The event also attracted several distinguished personalities including Sierra Leone’s Deputy Minister of Finance, Kadiatu Allie who represented the Minister of Finance, Sheku Fantamadi Bangura as Keynote Speaker. Other speakers include Sierra Leone Central Bank Governor, Dr Ibrahim Steven, Governor of the Central Bank of Guinea, Karamo Kabah, Director General of the West African Monetary Agency (WAMA), Momodu Samba Saho, Director General of West African Monetary Institute (WAMI), Olorunsonla Olowofeso and Dr Baba Y Musa from the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM). RCBank – The Bank of Choice!!!!
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