Sterling Bank boosts street cleaning with 600 jackets in Plateau

Sterling Bank Plc, on Thursday donated 600 customized reflective uniforms to the Plateau State Environmental Protection & Sanitation Agency (PEPSA) for distribution among its highway sweepers and workers in Jos, Plateau state capital.

Business Executive, Sterling Bank (North East), Abbas Yerima, presented the uniforms to the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who was represented by Commissioner for Environment and Mineral Development, Abdullahi Garba Abbas.

Yerima premised the intervention on the fact that the burden of keeping a clean environment cannot be left to state governments alone.

He said Sterling Bank would always be willing to partner with states and other organizations that are committed to keeping the environment clean and safe.

“Our purpose as a Bank is to enrich lives and we hope that this gesture would go a long way in contributing towards leaving future generations and communities with a richer, better and more valuable
environment”, he said.

Responding, the governor said the name of Sterling Bank will be written in gold in the annals of Plateau State history.

“As we are all aware the government of Plateau State has provided an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. It is only natural for organizations doing business on the plateau to give something back,”
Yerima said.

“This donation is one of the ways through which Sterling Bank contributes to the welfare of the community in all the locations it operates. If the environment is not clean, there is tendency for disease to be spread and the result is sicknesses everywhere. It is our hope that this donation and effective usage of the uniforms would
assist in making the environment healthier and better for everybody in Plateau State.

“By wearing the reflective uniforms, fatalities among highway sweepers and workers will be eliminated as motorists would be able to see them from long distances and avoid hitting them while working along the road in the early part of the day.”

Yerima said the bank had also instituted an environmental sustainability campaign known as Sterling Environmental Makeover (STEM) to encourage the cleaning of the environment throughout the country and has carried out several of these activities in the tin city of Jos, in addition to its ongoing tree planting campaign.

He said that the uniform is environment-friendly because of its reflective outlook, which serves as a protective device for the highway sweepers, considering the nature of their jobs and for ease of identification.

While expressing gratitude to bank for the gesture, Governor Lalong urged other corporate organisations to replicate the example and standards set by Sterling Bank as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

“I don’t have enough words to express gratitude to Sterling Bank because this gesture is not the first time, neither is it the second time. Early this year, Sterling Bank donated some materials and we
were all there,”Lalong said.

“Also, it was Sterling Bank that organised that Terminus should be kept clean and obviously it was kept clean. It was also Sterling Bank that organised “Keep Bukuru Clean” in Jos South LGA; and it was well
celebrated.

“The community express their gratitude and I want to assure Sterling Bank that your name will be written in gold in the annals of our history in Plateau State. I urge you to keep it up, it is the desire of this administration to make sure that the people remain healthy because a healthy environment is a wealthy environment.

“I want to use this medium to make a passionate plea to other corporate organisations like NURTW, market associations and companies to emulate the gesture of Sterling Bank.”

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Development, Stephen Gadong Pam, described the event as a “landmark contribution.”

He said the bank had done a lot for Plateau State and has impacted its host communities and business environment positively.

Pam said, “The various CSR interventions of Sterling Bank are clear affirmation of the fact that the government cannot do everything alone. Instead, everyone has a role to play in his or her own little
way.

“While appreciating Sterling Bank for this wonderful synergy with the government, I call on other corporate bodies and willing individuals to borrow a leaf from them and identify areas of possible cooperation for the common good of the citizenry.

Motolani Oseni