Airtel Nigeria has received commendations from the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo for assisting the underprivileged members of society through its corporate social responsibility initiative.
The mobile received the VP’s appreciation on Saturday night in Lagos during the premiere of the Season 5 Airtel Touching Lives, a philanthropic programme sponsored by Airtel Nigeria.
In the commendation remarks the CP said “I really want to laud the effort of Segun Ogunsanya and his team at Airtel for touching so many lives and for doing so in the past five years without fanfare.
“Listening to the stories of the lives that have been touched must be a reminder of so many others in despair who need our help and comfort.”
He said that in 2014, among the fundamental plans of the All Progressives Congress was to create social safety nets for the people in the country and also to show that the government owed a duty to the weak and vulnerable.
He said: “Inspite of all these social safety net schemes, we are still very far from touching the majority of those who need our help.
“Because we can’t do it all, that is why socially conscious organisations like Airtel is so vital in bridging the huge gap between what governments can do and what is left to be done.”
Airtel also received accolades from the governor of Lagos state Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu for touching lives through its CSR initiative. According to Sanwo-Olu individuals and organisations who had done very well in their lives should emulate the company by helping the underprivileged.
Sanwo-Olu said: “That is why organisations like Airtel have seen that they need to work with us and not behind us.
“As partners we work for the greater good of the citizens of Nigeria.
“Airtel has been going out of its way to really touch lives and has also contributed to Lagos State Security Trust Fund by giving us over 200 lines for all our security operatives in the Rapid Response Squad.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya, in his speech called on kind-hearted Nigerians to join in uplifting the less-privileged members of society.
Ogunsanya said: “The initiative is designed to offer practical relief, succour, hope, opportunities and credible platforms to liberate and empower the underprivileged, disadvantaged individuals, families and communities in the Nigerian society.”
He said the initiative had continued to record tremendous success since it was launched in 2015.
Ogunsanya said the success of the programme over the years had encouraged the telecommunication company to keep the show coming back every year.
