Taraba: Bankers Committee Holds Dinner, Award Night – Honours Gov Kefas
From Lynn Adda
The Jalingo Bankers Committee on Saturday, 14th February 2026, held its 2025 Dinner and Awards Night ceremony.
Mr Jonah Haruna, Jalingo Branch Controller of CBN presenting an award to the representative of the Taraba State Governor, Dr Agbu Kefas at the event
The event was organized by the Jalingo Bankers Committee, which is made up of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN, Jalingo Branch and the 17 Deposit Money Banks operating in Taraba State.
It was an evening of excellence, recognition and celebration of outstanding performance in the banking sector of Taraba State.
In a message to the event, the Taraba State Governor Dr Agbu Kefas commended banks in the state for their contributions to the socio-economic development and progress of Taraba State.
Represented by Hon Abdullaziz Suleiman Titong, Member representing Gembu Constituency in the Taraba State House of Assembly, Dr Kefas stressed that no state can thrive in isolation.
According to him, every state requires full collaboration of the financial institutions to be able to deliver essential infrastructure to its citizens.
The Governor noted that the state has been enjoying mutual business relationships with the bankers in Taraba State.
“For this, I want to say a big thank you to the banking industry in the state.
Taraba State is committed to transparent driven governance with a budget that tracks every kobo spent. Your expertise in risk assessment and capital development will be crucial to ensure that our projects deliver measurable impacts in the state. Let us forge a partnership where banks become not just lenders but protect Taraba’s future.
“Together we can turn every kobo into a road, every kobo into a school, we can turn a Kobo into a hospital and a source of livelihood for our people in Taraba State. I will like to assure you that Taraba State has a mutual understanding and mutual cooperation with the banking industry and through these, a lot of developmental strides have been recorded in the state and we always say thank you and we enjoy the relationship the banking industry and the state shares”.
Earlier in a welcome address, Mr Jonah Haruna, Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN who is also the Chairman of the Jalingo Bankers Committee, said the event was to review the 2025 performance, celebrate collective achievements and renew commitment to excellent service delivery in 2026.
Mr Jonah Haruna, Jalingo CBN Branch Controller
“We are gathered here under the theme, ” Building Resilience through Reforms, Innovation and Compliance”. Our theme was carefully crafted to reflect the great strides and the strategic direction of the Management of the Central Bank of Nigeria under the leadership of Mr Olayemi Cardoso. As you may be aware, the Bank embarked on critical reforms aimed at microeconomic stability, rebuilding investor confidence, payment system and digital transformation, banking recapitalization, promoting responsible fintech innovations and financial system resilience”.
The Branch Controller said these reforms have resulted in foreign reserve growth above 46 billion dollars, the highest level in approximately 8 years, moderating inflation, stable exchange rate, New Market Conduct Code, unified exchange windows, establishment of innovation hub to drive fintech collaboration and settlement of verified foreign exchange backlog obligations of over 7 billion dollars among others.
While calling on banks to build resilience, innovate and prepare for the future, Mr Jonah Haruna stressed that compliance must remain an integral part of banking operations, saying the CBN will intensify efforts on spot checks to ensure currency are adequately available to the general public.
“May I use this opportunity to commend the Deposit Money Banks for their resilience in collaborating with the CBN in ensuring cash availability to the public in Taraba State. I also appreciate the banks for giving back to our host community through corporate social responsibility interventions in different sectors of Taraba State.
“Please permit me to use this opportunity to remind the public that the Naira is our national pride, our sovereignty and our shared destiny as a people. It must be handled with dignity and care. It is an offense to reject, mutilate, spray, sell or counterfeit the Naira. We must all keep our notes clean and fit for use”.
The event also featured the presentation of a paper titled, “Rebuilding Resilience: Navigating Reforms, Compliance and Innovation, Strengthening Banking Through Reforms, Compliance and Innovation delivered by Dr Daniel David Buba.
Dr Daniel David Buba
First City Monument Bank, FCMB was awarded the best in Cash Deposit Compliance while Keystone Bank was awarded the best in Customer Protection and Complaints Management.
Access Bank was awarded the best in Currency Integrity while the award for the best in Spot Checks Compliance was won by Jaiz Bank.
Zenith bank was declared the Highest in Cash Deposit Volume while the most punctual in bank meetings was won by Unity Bank.
Taj Bank was awarded the best in the inter-bank football competition.
The Taraba State Governor Dr Agbu Kefas was also awarded at the event for ensuring a secured and enabling environment for banking business in the state.
The CBN Branch Controller, Mr Jonah Haruna and Mrs Victoria Tarfa of the Zenith bank, Jalingo were also recognized for their excellent leadership qualities.
The Taraba State Cultural Troupe added to the event through its various performances.
