CBN Governor, Finance Chiefs To Headline CRMI’s 25th Anniversary Conference In Lagos
By Sunday Etuka
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso will be Special Guest of Honour at the Chartered Risk Management Institute of Nigeria (CRMI) 25th Annual International Conference and Silver Jubilee Celebration, which opens in Lagos next week.
The two-day event will hold on October 14 and 15 at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island. It will bring together central bank officials, regulators, corporate leaders and students to discuss how organisations can turn risk management into a competitive “resilience edge.”
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of CRMI, Mr Victor Olannye.
Dr. Armstrong Ume Takang, Managing Director of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, will deliver a keynote address. Policymakers, chief executives, chief risk officers, academics and development partners from across Africa and beyond are also expected.
CRMI President and Chairman of the Governing Council, Kevin Ugwuoke, said risk management has moved from the margins of Nigerian business to the centre of corporate decision making.
“Twenty-five years ago, risk management in Nigeria was a back-office function that few boards discussed. Today it sits in the boardroom. The question is no longer whether an organisation manages risk, but whether it can turn that capability into an advantage. That is what we mean by the resilience edge,” he said.
Organisers said the conference comes at a critical time, as Nigerian firms deal with overlapping pressures from economic reforms, technological change, evolving regulation, climate stress and rising cyber threats. Plenary addresses, panel sessions and technical workshops will examine how boards and management can anticipate disruption, adapt strategy and recover from shocks while gaining a competitive advantage.
This year’s programme includes the maiden University Risk Management Challenge, an academic contest in which student teams from Nigerian universities will tackle a real-world risk scenario. The teams will present their analyses and solutions to a panel of senior practitioners, competing for financial grants, academic recognition and professional development resources.
Ugwuoke said the next generation of professionals is already in university. “The profession’s next twenty-five years will be built by people who are undergraduates today,” he said, adding that the institute wants to engage emerging talent “before the job market does.”
The conference will end on the evening of October 15 with a 25th Anniversary Award and Dinner Night, honouring individuals and organisations that have advanced risk management practice in Nigeria.
The categories are: Institutional Leadership in Risk Advocacy, Human Capacity Development in Risk Management, Risk Regulation Excellence, Chief Risk Officer of the Year, Digital and Cyber Risk Management Excellence, Young Risk Professional of the Year, and excellence in Security Risk Management and National Security.
CRMI said the awards are meant to highlight best practice and set benchmarks for corporate resilience, regulatory compliance and national security preparedness.
Representatives of risk management bodies across Africa and international development partners are also expected to attend.
