KEY POINTS
- Jimoh Ibrahim ordered Nigeria’s UN Mission to open a UBA account within seven days.
- He called the 42-year banking gap with the Nigerian-owned lender unacceptable.
- UBA’s New York COO welcomed the move after years of unsuccessful overtures.
Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, Nigeria’s permanent representative to the United Nations, has ordered the country’s Permanent Mission in New York to open an official account with United Bank for Africa within seven days, ending a 42-year banking gap between two Nigerian flagships in the same city. Ibrahim issued the directive Monday during a meeting with senior UBA officials at the lender’s New York office.
Furthermore, Ibrahim said it was unacceptable that the Nigerian Mission and UBA, both Tony Elumelu-controlled assets of Nigeria’s global footprint, had operated side by side for more than four decades without any formal banking relationship. According to him, the gap undercut President Bola Tinubu’s directive to drive public-private collaboration. Consequently, he gave the financial attaché a strict seven-day deadline to comply.
Ibrahim cites Tinubu mandate
Specifically, Ibrahim said he discovered the anomaly while reviewing the Mission’s accounts shortly after assuming duty. “While reviewing our account, I asked the Financial Attaché if he was aware that UBA is here in New York, and he confirmed he was,” the envoy recalled. Moreover, he said the attaché admitted that neither a deposit account nor any other relationship had ever been established.
In addition, Ibrahim said President Tinubu would not tolerate such a lapse from a new envoy. “I need to address this unacceptable situation because President Bola Tinubu would not be pleased if, after some days of resumption, I cannot facilitate a partnership between the Nigerian government and the private sector for collaborative results,” he said. Therefore, he ruled, the account must be live within a week.
Ibrahim courts Nigerian capital
Beyond the UBA directive, Ibrahim pressed Nigerian private-sector operators to engage more aggressively with the Mission. Subsequently, he described the Mission House as a shared national platform and urged founders, executives and investors to use it for deal-making and policy advocacy. Additionally, he said diaspora capital must move through Nigerian-owned institutions whenever possible.
Furthermore, Ibrahim praised Tinubu for steering Nigeria into a seat on the United Nations Law Reform Commission, a diplomatic win he said strengthens the country’s voice in shaping international legal norms. Moreover, he said the appointment validates the foreign-policy posture that pairs hard diplomacy with soft economic statecraft. Consequently, he framed his New York agenda around converting that posture into commercial wins.
UBA welcomes the breakthrough
Meanwhile, Osilama Idokogi, chief operating officer of UBA in New York, welcomed the directive and praised Ibrahim’s patriotism. He said the bank had pursued the Mission for years without success and was relieved that a sitting ambassador had finally forced the issue. Therefore, Idokogi said, UBA stands ready to onboard the Mission and structure tailored cash-management and treasury services.
Ultimately, the seven-day deadline turns a long-standing diplomatic embarrassment into a test case for the Tinubu administration’s “Nigeria-first” economic doctrine. Moreover, analysts say a successful account opening could spur other Nigerian missions worldwide to route official banking through UBA, Zenith and Access wherever those lenders operate. In addition, the move strengthens Elumelu’s continental brand at a moment when African banks are courting sovereign deposits across global capitals.
