Four African Presidents, Others Grace UBA 75th Anniversary @ UNGA79

His Excellency Carlos Vila Nova; President of São Tomé and Principe; His Excellency Julius Maada Bio President of Sierra Leone; Brice Oligui Nguema President of Gabon; His Excellency; His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo, President of Ghana; and the Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and others have commemorated the 40th anniversary of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) America and the 75 years of UBA Group.

The United Bank for Africa held a Cocktail Reception at the sidelines of the ongoing 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79) in New York City.

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person; Governor Mohammed Umaru Baggo, Caleb Mutfwang, Governor of Niger; Governor of Plateau; Madam Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, Minister of Women Affairs; and Okey Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank,; as well as Wiebe Boer, CEO All On.

UBA team had the likes of Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director, UBA Group; Biola Bawuah, CEO UBA Africa; Sola Yomi Ajayi, CEO UBA International; and Bolla Atta, UBA Group Director for Corporate Communications, and several others.

At the event themed: Evening of Influence and Impact, Nollywood veteran actress, Genevieve Nnaji; Founder of Ebony Life Group, Mo Abudu; Chairman of MTN Nigeria Plc, Dr Ernest Ndukwe; and Chief Corporate Services Officer, MTN Nigeria Communications, Tobe Okigbo, amongst several others including Music Superstar, Davido, who had guests dancing to hits upon hits were in attendance.

Tony Elumelu, Group Chairman, UBA, who led the charge of stepping up Africa on the global stage at the UBA Cocktail event was targeted at not just connecting global leaders but also shaping the future of Africa and the world at large.

The bank, earlier at UNGA, had interfaced with global leaders and policymakers on the need to collectively foster progress, drive and invest in impactful change for Africa’s future, and put the continent on the global state.

Elumelu noted there is a better way to invest in Africa for a sustainable future that creates value for all.

This again was reiterated at the high-level conservations Elumelu held with his team and Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Hon. Andrew Holness on the need to focus on enhancing partnerships between the Caribbean and Africa.

“The young people in the Caribbean, just as those in Africa, need the same economic opportunity and hope as their peers elsewhere in the world. They are resilient, creative, hardworking and innovative. We must prioritise and empower our young entrepreneurs because they are the lifeblood of our regions,” he said.

Also at the UNGA outing, the group chairman joined former US President, Bill Clinton on the Clinton Global Initiative Executive Roundtable lunch on “Speed and Scale: Achieving Climate Targets”, which emphasised the urgent need for innovative solutions to climate goals while fostering sustainable development.

At the World Food Programme (WFP) reception, Elumelu joined WFP Executive Director, Cindy McCain, to call for urgent collaboration to tackle the global hunger crisis.

While emphasising our shared responsibility to support the 733 million people facing food insecurity, Elumelu said business success cannot be realised if people are hungry.

Also at #UNGA79,  Elumelu CFR met with President Brice Oligui Nguema of Gabon, where he called for partnership in scaling opportunities, fueling innovation, and unlocking the potential of Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs.

According to Elumelu, the outing at UNGA was targeted at convening global leaders to talk about the three things that are important to him- “transformative economic growth for Africa so that we can eradicate poverty and create prosperity for all; Making sure we create employment for our young ones. We need to stop wasting our talents on the continent; and thirdly, talk about equitable energy transition that is beneficial for Africa”.