Michael Olugbode in Maiduguri
Unity Bank Plc has built and handed over an ultra modern office complex to Borno State Universal Basic Education.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony in Maiduguri, Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum said the completion and subsequent handover of the office accommodation stand as a testament of the commitment of Unity Bank Plc to support the aggressive mass literacy programme of the State and federal Government.
He said: “Given the effort made by my administration to significantly boost school enrolment of every child of school age as well as the educational infrastructure through support and encouragement of development partners and the organised private sector, this gesture counts as an act of corporate magnanimity with meaningful impact for uptake of SUBEB activities in Borno State.”
The governor said: “Our case in Borno State is a peculiar one, but with Unity Bank Plc showing a good example of multi-sectoral participation in providing critical educational infrastructure for the benefit of our people, we are indeed delighted that this has added one more fruitful step to reaching our goal.”
He added that: “I, therefore, thank the Board, Management and Staff of Unity Bank Plc for donating the office complex to Borno State in a bid to promote education in the State and support our laudable programme in the sector.”
Earlier in her speech, the Managing Director of the bank, Mrs. Tomi Somefun said the SUBEB Office building stand as a symbol of the bank’s resolve and commitment to education in the North East and in Nigeria/
The effort, she added, is also a demonstration of Unity Bank Plc’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
The Managing Director who was represented by the bank’s Zonal Head, Abuja and North central, Nuruddin Mohammed Bashir said: “This (the project) was thus conceived as a long standing partner to Government and people of Borno State not only committed to supporting initiatives for revamping education, but also a significant gesture of appreciation of the cordial relationship that the State and the Bank have enjoyed over the years.”
She said she was happy that signs of the end of the scourge of the insurgency that has affected the development of education over the past decade are clearly seen. Promising that: “As the state Government embarked on massive rebuilding of the sector, we remain committed to lending a hand of support in the best way we could.”
She said: “At Unity Bank, we understand the critical role of education in driving developmental aspirations of both individuals and the state as an entity, so we are determined to continue to work with the state to provide the critical infrastructure that is needed to support this goal.”
She however disclosed that: “Long before the intervention to aid the resettlement of the IDPs, the Bank had donated N25 million in support of the State’s University projects in 2014. Furthermore, the bank through the Corporate social responsibility initiative supported the SUBEB with a utility vehicle to ease their logistics for project supervision. All these gestures buttress the Bank’s commitment to education in the State.”
