The Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Niyi Yusuf, has called on Nigeria’s financial sector to take the lead in building a responsible and inclusive future for artificial intelligence, as the technology reshapes the landscape of banking and financial services.
Yusuf, who also serves as Managing Partner at Verraki Partners, made the call during his keynote address at the 2025 Stakeholders Conference of the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks.
The event, themed “AI & the Future of Trust: Reimagining Banking and Financial Services in a Digital-First Era,” brought together industry leaders and communication experts to discuss the evolving role of AI in finance.
Founded in 1996, ACAMB is the umbrella body for public relations and corporate communications professionals in Nigeria’s banking sector.
Yusuf stressed AI’s transformative potential and urged financial institutions to prioritise ethical governance, human-centric design, robust regulation, and homegrown innovation.
According to him, these pillars are critical to ensuring that AI delivers broad-based value while mitigating associated risks.
He noted that the sector’s leadership and credibility position it to shape policies and frameworks that will determine how AI is deployed across the broader economy.
He said, “Like other technologies before it, we must be deliberate to maximise the benefits and mitigate the risks of AI.”
Yusuf urged players in the financial sector to “define trust parameters and AI guardianship to enable consent-driven systems to promote trust and inclusion. Foster ethical AI development and human-centric design while building awareness, literacy, skills, and talent development to promote an inclusive AI ecosystem. Promote explainability, transparency, and accountability in AI systems through regulations, data privacy, and consumer protection.
“Local regulators/regulations should encourage innovation, local datasets, and consumer protection and enhance international collaborations on AI to reduce cost and support AI startups, entrepreneurs, and the ecosystem to ensure failures are not fatal and we are not only AI consumers.”
The Verraki Partners boss underscored that in today’s digital era, trust has emerged as the new currency, emphasising that financial institutions must prioritise transparency, accountability, and ethical AI practices to maintain public confidence and relevance.
He noted, “Data Poisoning: Malicious inputs subtly corrupt models and can lead to harmful outcomes, especially in sensitive areas like lending or fraud detection. Transparency: Customers and regulators demand clarity and transparency about the actions taken by AI systems. Explainability and accountability: AI systems must be able to explain their decisions, especially in sensitive areas like credit scoring or compliance.”
In his welcome address, the President of ACAMB, Rasheed Bolarinwa, stated that the financial industry stands at the brink of a transformative era—one defined by artificial intelligence, digital technologies, and evolving customer expectations.
He reaffirmed ACAMB’s mission to promote excellence in corporate communications and stakeholder engagement within the banking sector, noting that the conference serves as a platform for thought leaders, innovators, regulators, and practitioners to collaboratively shape the industry’s future in a responsible and sustainable manner.
