Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has commended Sterling Bank Plc for its contribution to clean environment through the provision of necessary incentives to checkmate environmental challenges.
The Governor, who made the commendation while receiving reflective coveralls donated by the Bank for use by members of the Osun Waste Management Authority (OWMA) in Oshogbo, the state capital, noted that the coverall would protect the highway managers against occupational hazards which they face in the discharge of their responsibilities on a daily basis.
His words: “By this donation, Sterling Bank has demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability. These coveralls without any doubt will make the Highway Managers visible from afar and prevent the incidents of motorists running into them.
“It will provide safety against occupational hazards and also give them a sense of dignity as opposed to appearing improperly dressed and unkempt and elevate their status as they see themselves as very relevant to the society through the service they provide”.
While reaffirming his administration’s readiness to maintain a top position among its peers at championing good environmental sanitation, the Governor identified environmental challenges as part of the reasons his administration took aggressive steps towards waste management and sanitation in the state.
To kick start the process, he said his government came up with a 90-day emergency declaration on sanitation and zero tolerance for filth culminating in the launch of the O’Clean plus initiatives which had contributed significantly in the reduction of sanitation related diseases, adding that other corporate organizations should emulate the Bank in ensuring a clean environment.
Earlier, the Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Lanre Adesanya, said the presentation of coveralls was in line with the bank’s strategic focus on the environment as one of its corporate social responsibility priorities. He added that the Bank was already in partnership with other states such as Enugu, Kaduna, Rivers, Delta, Abia, Ogun and Lagos states.
His words: “At Sterling Bank, environmental cleanliness is one of the cardinal points of our Corporate Social Responsibility thrust that informs the bank’s continued commitment of enormous resources towards ensuring that the environment where we live is habitable.
“As we embark on this mission, we consider it of utmost importance to protect those whose job it is to manage and clean the environment. That is why we came up with the idea of producing coveralls for highway managers to ensure their safety, make them more relevant in the society and as well as dignify them while discharging their duties.
In his remarks, the General Manager, OWMA, Ganiyu Oyeladun, said the state government through his agency, has in recent years embarked on various initiatives with focus on achieving the objectives of the restoration of healthy living and empowerment for the citizenry.
Oyeladun noted that the current administration has successfully placed a high priority on environmental sanitation and waste management, hence the creation of the agency.
He said OWMA has succeeded in entrenching the culture of cleanliness among the citizenry, adding that with the efforts of the agency, there is sharp reduction in sanitation related diseases just as there is drastic reduction in mortality and morbidity rates.
