By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, July 22, GNA – A call for discipline rather than cash injections, dominated a book launch in Accra on Tuesday, July 21, as Mr Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin, Speaker of Parliament, described the revival of the National Investment Bank (NIB) to sound governance, and not just the mere injection of money.
The event celebrated the launch of the autobiography of Chief Dr Doli-Wura Awushi Abdul-Malik Seidu Zakaria, Managing Director of NIB PLC, titled “Rebuilding Confidence, Restoring Strength,” which chronicles his role in the turnaround of the state-owned bank.
Mr Bagbin, the Guest of Honour, said he accepted the invitation not only to support a close associate but also to celebrate an achiever whose leadership had transformed several state institutions.
He highlighted Dr Zakaria’s contributions to the West Gonja District Assembly, the Land Title Registry, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, as well as his role in reviving NIB.
Addressing distinguished guests, Mr Bagbin, who was the Guest of Honour said he accepted the role not just to “solidarise with my bosom brother” but to “celebrate success” and identify with “an achiever whose can-do spirit has transformed many state institutions.”
He cited Dr Zakaria’s track record across the West Gonja District Assembly, Land Title Registry, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Controller and Accountant General’s Department, and Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and his role in resuscitating what he called “a moribund state bank.”
Describing the author as “a man with a Midas touch,” Mr Bagbin commended his commitment to national development and his contribution to healthcare through the establishment of Aisha Hospital in Tamale.
He said, “I watched him build Aisha Hospital in Tamale, not for profit, but to save the lives of families in the north who had been driving the whole length of this country to Accra for care.”
Mr Bagbin noted that Dr Zakaria’s experience in running businesses including M&M Zamar, SAM ZM Company Ltd., Clinton and Boresa Consult Ltd., Excel Links Consult, and Global Dream Hotel taught him key lessons: “That in running an organization, governance comes first… That political risk is real… And that competence is anchored on character.”
“So when the nation doubted whether a man who had never worked in a bank could rescue a drowning national bank, I did not share the doubt for a single moment,” he added, referencing the author’s early hustles as a kerosene seller at age eight and a shoeshine boy.
Launching the book, Mr Bagbin said Ghana’s slow development was tied to a “dip in the reading and learning culture” and that Dr Zakaria’s book was investing in Ghana’s growth.
“This book is about public trust. It answers the question… can the institutions we build with public money ever serve the public with fidelity and candor?” he asked.
He painted a grim picture of NIB’s state before the intervention: established by Parliament in 1963 to industrialise the nation and financiers of companies like Nestlé Ghana and Aluworks, yet by 2024 had “not published a single set of audited accounts in more than a decade.”
The central lesson, the Speaker said, was for all struggling state enterprises.
“The temptation in every such case is to reach first for money, as though a cash injection alone could cure the disease. This book is a standing rebuke to that temptation.”
“In 2025/2026, what changed the outcome was not the size of the cheque. It was the discipline instilled in the system before the inflows,” he stated.
Mr Bagbin said the “dissipation of resources by state agencies” had turned many Ghanaians into cynics.
“For such people, I recommend this book. This is a book that inspires hope… If Chief Dr Doli-Wura’s good leadership could reset NIB, His Excellency John Mahama’s exemplary leadership will certainly transform this country,” he said.
He urged leaders of all state institutions to read the book and called on the public to “buy it. Read it. Press it into the hands of every young public servant you know.”
He also congratulated the board, management, and “above all the staff, who are the true authors of NIB’s recovery.”
Dr Zakaria, the author and Managing Director of NIB PLC, explained that the story behind the bank’s remarkable transformation was the bold decision to own NIB and to take full responsibility for it, which led to the team “moving profit from GH¢ 3.1 million in 2024 to GH¢ 344 million in 2025 and further GH¢ 94 million half year 2026.
“This is a total of GH¢ 438 million in profit in 18 months,” he said.
He noted that he led by example, moved to the field, and to decision-makers to mobilise deposits that reflected in the bank’s deposit moving from GH¢ 6.4 billion in 2024 to GH¢ 12.9 billion in 18 months.
According to the author, he used his wider network judiciously, which paid off by being the first bank to be recapitalised in months, yielding GH¢ 1.97 billion in total recapitalisation funds.
He noted the move significantly impacted the total asset of the bank “from GH¢ 5.8 billion in 2024 to GH¢ 14.9 billion by June, 2026. Besides, negative total equity of GH¢ 851 million in 2024 is now GH¢ 1.64 billion as at June, 2026, whilst Capital Adequacy Ration (CAR) of negative 47 per cent is now positive 48.1per cent as at June, 2026,” he said.
He added that non-performing loans of 76 per cent in 2024 was now 52.21 per cent.
Dr Zakaria’s noted that through complete elimination of waste, NIB PLC was saving 25 per cent of cost across board and that is the record in 18 months.
He empahsised that the story was not one of perfection, nor was it a story with a final chapter already written, urging his team to continue to work hard for more ground breakings.
The event was attended by traditional leaders, corporate executives, and public servants.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Elsie Appiah-Osei
Email: [email protected]