Lagos State Government has endorsed the Heritage Bank Skoolympics project, an
initiative of Heritage Bank Plc, aimed at building a heritage of champions
through youth sports competition at the secondary school level
Mr.
Ayodeji Tinubu, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Government on Sports, gave
the endorsement at a stakeholders meeting held at the corporate headquarters of
the bank in Lagos recently, noting that Heritage Bank is the only bank at the
moment that is undertaking such a lofty and premium sporting project in the
state, which maiden event will take place from November 2 to 4, 2016.
He
said, “We are very excited at the project because it will help to develop youths
in the state in a disciplined manner,” adding that we have mobilized and
created awareness among students in the state for the project and were looking
forward to it.
He
said the Heritage Bank Skoolympics was a “very fantastic idea” and that the
state was interested in the “pre, during and post event activities because it
intended to expose the beneficiary students to proper mentoring and
counselling.”
Tinubu,
who also doubles as the Chairman of the Lagos State Sports Commission said the
state government was building a sports culture in the state as it is in most
metropolis, through the creation of an enabling environment for sustainable
sporting activities to thrive in a variety of sports events, in a bid to cater
for the passion of majority of the citizenry.
Also
speaking, Chief Mrs. Mary Onyali, the Brand Ambassador of Heritage Bank
Skoolympics said, “I was really moved when I was approached to be the
ambassador.” She urged the stakeholders to make the Heritage Bank Skoolympics a
continual project, as it consist of concepts that would benefit Nigerian
children.
Earlier
in her address of welcome, the Executive Director, Lagos and
South-west/Corporate Banking of Heritage Bank, Mrs. Mary Akpobome, who stood in
for the Managing Director, Ifie Sekibo, affirmed that the bank was spearheading
the noble project in the state because Lagos State has been known to be
successful in driving sports initiatives.
She
said the bank has a sustainability plan to organise the programme yearly in a
bid to identify, and mentor the winning youths over a long period of time to
become medallists in international competitions.
Heritage
Bank will be hosting over 200 public and private schools with about 6,000
students competing across all local government areas of Lagos State in the
maiden event. The competition which will take place at the Teslim Balogun
Stadium in Surulere and Rowe Park Sport in Yaba will feature various sporting
activities like basketball, athletics, handball, table tennis, swimming, track
and field events among others.
L-R: Executive Director, Heritage Bank,
Mary Akpobome; Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Sports/Chairman,
Lagos State Sports Commission, Ayodeji Tinubu; Heritage Bank Skoolympics
Ambassador, Mary Onyali and Divisional Head, Retail/SME, Heritage Bank, Ori
Ogba, during the bank’s Skoolympics Stakeholders meeting in Lagos.
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