The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has described traditional institutions in the country as partners in community engagement and cascading of economic opportunities arising from its policies and programmes. 

Branch Controller of the CBN in Port Harcourt, Maxwell Okafor said this on Friday, January 27, 2023 when he led a delegation comprising the Head, Development Banking, Rivers State, Stanley Oruyeigha, and other officials of the bank on a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Bonny Chiefs Council (BCC)), Se-Alabo Dagogo Claude-Wilcox in Bonny, Rivers State.

Okafor told the traditional ruler, who stood in for the Amanyanabo and Natural Ruler of Bonny Kingdom to receive them, that the CBN values its partnerships with stakeholders, especially, community gatekeepers like the King and chiefs of Bonny Kingdom, saying they help to ensure the actualization of the bank’s objectives.

He stressed that as leaders in their various communities, they stand best suited to ensure their people are carried along in the scheme of things, noting that traditional rulers are the closest to the people and play critical roles in ensuring that social benefits get to them.  

In his response, Se-Alabo Dagogo Claude-Wilcox, who is a former Nigerian ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with concurrent accreditation to the Republics of Rwanda and Burundi, respectively, thanked the CBN team for visiting, applauding the CBN Governor and his management team for insisting on the naira swap deadline.

“Following the latest announcement about the change of currency by Emefiele himself. It is a good thing to do.”

“The timing, when the Governor spoke about it, some people were talking about extension and he came out yesterday categorically to say that there is no extension.”

“We applaud the Central Bank for this so that we can have absolute peace. People take undue advantage of things like this one way or the other. But that announcement yesterday that I saw I was very pleased.”

Welcoming his guests to Bonny Kingdom, Se-Alabo Wilcox, who is also the Chief and Head of Wilcox Chieftaincy House of Bonny Kingdom, advertised Bonny Island to them as a destination of choice for tourism and relaxation, asserting that the CBN as an institution is always welcome to the island, assuring them of support to achieve set objectives.  

“You are welcome to the Kingdom. On behalf of our King, I’ll say you are in safe hands here. Bonny is a very beautiful place.”

“So, you are welcome to the community to sensitize our people. The banks, like you have said you’ve been to some and they are obeying the rules. We also as a kingdom will send this message to our different villages. We have our ways of communicating to them.”