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.
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