The Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, has restated his commitment to education in the state, saying that investment in human development is the best and the most rewarding in life.
He added that no amount of money spent on education is wasted as education remains the best and the only bedrock for the development of any nation.
The governor made these assertions in his address at the official commissioning of the CIBN Bankers Hall donated to The Polytechnic, Ibadan (TPI), by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) on Thursday, April 21, 2022.
Speaking further, Makinde noted that his government is fully committed to the provision of qualitative education in the state despite the economic recession being experienced globally, adding that the focus of the state government must not be shifted away from giving the education sector the necessary attention it deserves.
“A lot of resources have been committed to it,” he said.
The governor, represented at the event by the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Rahman Abiodun Abdul-Raheem, said that the ultra-modern hall that was donated by the CIBN to The Polytechnic Ibadan, would, in no small measure, facilitate academic activities in the institution as well as complement the other existing efforts in that regard.
He appreciated the authorities of CIBN for their thoughtfulness in partnering with the state government, through their Corporate Social Responsibility programmes, in constructing a Bankers’ Hall in The Polytechnic Ibadan.
He prayed that God would continue to prosper the CIBN, stressing that more of such intervention in education is highly appreciated.
The governor, while giving kudos to the council members and management of the institution for their efforts, charged them to ensure judicious use of the edifice by both the staff and the students.
He solicited the cooperation of the students of the institution to shun thuggery and any form of violence in the institution.
In his remarks, the President/Chairman of the council, CIBN, Dr Bayo Olugbemi, congratulated the Governing Council, management, staff and students of The Polytechnic Ibadan, for emerging as the best linkage institution in the South-West geopolitical zone, an accomplishment which he noted afforded the institution the rare privilege of being the beneficiary of the institute’s legacy project in the zone.
“Today’s event will remain indelible in the annals of our highly revered institute and that of The Polytechnic Ibadan, in that the attainment of this feat is a fulfilment of a dream long conceived,” Dr Olugbemi said.
While he stated that the edifice would be known and called ‘The CIBN Bankers’ Hall,’ he noted that the modernly furnished and equipped 160-capacity lecture theatre would serve as the melting pot for the training and development of future-ready bankers in the south-west geopolitical zone.
Dr Olugbemi stated that, “The institute as the conscience and moral compass of the banking and finance industry, is resolute and committed to the observance and maintenance of ethics and professionalism among practitioners in the industry.
“I have no doubt that this structure would serve as an important tool in the delivery of high-quality education to future bankers.
“I, therefore, would like to seize this opportunity to urge the students to use the hall responsibly, so it can serve successive generations,” he stated.
In his remarks, the rector of the institution, Professor Kazeem Adebiyi, said the visit of the CIBN President and Council Members to the institution some six months ago on October 18, 2021, had not only attracted the erection of The CIBN Bankers’ Hall in the institution, but had equally heralded the beginning of other notable achievements in the institution.
“You have really beaten our imagination,” he said.
Professor Adebiyi also thanked the visitor to the institution, Governor Makinde, on behalf of the council and management of the polytechnic, for his unflinching support for the growth of the institution.
