Industry experts insist that continuous investment by private sector in upgrading critical infrastructure in the education sector is the best solution for Nigeria if she hopes to grow the next generation of globally competitive youth population.
Bhupendra Suri, managing director, Coca-Cola Nigeria, says private sector involvement in education, especially on learning inside and outside the classroom, will impact positively in shaping the lives of these future leaders.
Suri, while speaking at the handover ceremony of a block of five classrooms, 10 units of sanitation facilities, playground and a library complex at the First Baptist Primary School, Ijaye Oja-Ale, Abeokuta, Ogun State, says each decision our company makes is a chance for us to do the right thing.
Suri, who was represented by Amaka Onyemelukwe, manager, public affairs/communications, says Coca-Cola Nigeria is relentlessly self-aware of its role in the world and the impact it can have, adding that it is for this reason they are investing to help care for the people and communities they depend on to succeed.
Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun State governor, represented by the permanent secretary, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Aikulola Olu Ola, lauds the company for their effort, explaining that the project will go a long way in improving the quality of education offered to the pupils of the school while also impacting the community positively.
Also speaking at the ceremony, the former commissioner for Education, Science and Technology and Ogun State House of Assembly member-elect, Modupe Mujuota, commends Coca-Cola, Ogun State SUBEB, the School Base Management Committee (SBMC), the entire Ijaiye Community, the staff and pupils of the school for their commitment and tenacity for the successful implementation of the laudable project.
Abdul Jeleel Olatunde Okewole, chairman, Ogun State SUBEB in his own remarks, describes the handover ceremony as a testimony of the benefits of public private partnership in bridging infrastructure gap in communities.
The project is part of the Coca-Cola Foundation/UNDP New World Programme in collaboration with Ogun State government and Youth Empowerment Foundation aimed at upgrading critical infrastructural in the school.
