Abia Marks First-Ever World Savings Day Celebration

Abia State has marked its first-ever World Savings Day (WSD) celebration, 102 years after the global observance was established.

The 2025 edition of the event, sponsored by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), was held in Umuahia on February 25, 2026. The programme focused on inculcating a savings culture among Nigerian children and raising public awareness about the corporation’s mandate within the financial sector.

Although World Savings Day is globally observed every October 31, the Abia celebration was held under the theme, “This is Not a Savings Account,” underscoring the message that saving is a mindset, a culture, and a pathway to empowerment.

Declaring the event open, the Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Schools, Elder Goodluck Ubochi, commended NDIC for the initiative. He stressed that saving is fundamentally an attitudinal issue rather than a function of income level.

“Saving money is an attitudinal issue, not dependent on the volume of money one has,” Ubochi said, urging students to cultivate the habit of saving, even if it begins with small amounts.

He noted that many people struggle to save because they believe it depends solely on how much they earn. According to him, without the right mindset, even a high income may not translate into meaningful savings.

“When you don’t have the attitude, even if you are paid a million naira per week, you may still find it difficult to save,” he said.

The commissioner emphasised that instilling the habit of saving at a young age would have lasting benefits. He advised students to actively participate in the programme to fully reap its benefits, noting that consistent savings over time could accumulate into substantial resources for meaningful ventures.

The event featured interactive sessions and paper presentations. The Deputy Manager, Research, Policy and International Relations Department of NDIC, Dr. Matthew Adeboje, presented a paper titled “Mandate and Operations of NDIC,” highlighting the corporation’s role in safeguarding depositors and ensuring stability in the banking sector.

Also speaking, a Senior Manager in NDIC’s Communication and Public Affairs Department, Mrs. Chinenye Chimezie-Amadi, delivered a paper titled “Beyond Savings: Building Financial Resilience.” She described financial resilience as the ability to withstand financial shocks, manage crises effectively, and still work towards achieving set financial goals.

World Savings Day was established on October 31, 1924, during the first International Savings Bank Congress in Milan, Italy, where participants resolved to dedicate the day to promoting savings globally. In recent years, the focus of institutions organising the event has increasingly shifted toward developing countries, where a significant number of people remain unbanked.