By Constance Athekame

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Body of Banks’ CEOs, has donated relief materials to alleviate the suffering of flood victims in Mokwa, Niger State.

The donation was announced in Abuja by its Chairman, Mr Oliver Alawuba, who is also the Group Managing Director/CEO of United Bank for Africa (UBA).

He said that the the Governor of Niger, Mohammed Bago, and other government officials received the donations in Abuja at the state government’s Liaison Office in Abuja.

“The initiative was to fulfil a critical aspect of our corporate social responsibility by presenting relief materials worth millions of naira, including bags of rice, beverages, vegetable oil, and mattresses,” he said.

He expressed hope that the items would help ease the victims’ burdens and restore a measure of comfort and dignity.

Alawuba said that the banks’ would continue partnership and support for initiatives that aim to rebuild and transform affected communities.

He urged stakeholders to take lessons in planning in order to ensure that people build in the right way.

Meanwhile, the state governor, Muhammed Bago said that the gesture reinforced the critical role of private-sector partnerships in disaster response.

He said that the state had also received financial donations from individual banks.

Bago said that Niger State was home to several hydropower dams, which calls for continuous collaboration with the public private sector and financial institutions to address climate change and climate action issues.

He also thanked the banks for their timely intervention.

Other CEOs and executives present at the event included Dr Adaora Umeoji;  Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Mr Akin Morakinyo; Registrar, CIBN, and Mr Hasssan Imam, Managing Director of Keystone Bank.

Others are the Managing Director of Taj Bank, Mr Hamid Joda; Alhaji Abubakar Usman, Secretary to the Government of Niger State (SSG) and other senior government officials.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the flood in Mokwa Local Government Area began on May 29 and resulted in hundreds of deaths, displacement of thousands and widespread destruction of homes and key infrastructure. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman