🔍 Leveraging Technology for a New South-South: Beyond Oil to Inclusive Prosperity Last week, I had the honour of delivering the Guest Speaker Address at the 2025 CIBN South-South Zonal Banking & Finance Conference, held at the International Convention Centre in Calabar. I spoke in my capacity as the Immediate Past Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN)—and as a proud advocate for a digitally empowered South-South, starting with Akwa Ibom State. In my address, I made the case for rethinking prosperity—not just in terms of oil revenues, but in how we leverage technology to create jobs, attract investments, and include every citizen in our growth story. 📌 Akwa Ibom is already setting the pace through the ARISE Agenda, which is transforming our economic focus toward tourism, innovation, agriculture, and services. 📌 From the digitally managed ARISE Resort to solar-powered infrastructure and plans for a unified e-governance plat...