UNION Bank of Nigeria, through its employee volunteering platform under the UnionCares initiative, has completed and inaugurated a comprehensive infrastructure turnaround project at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary School in Ebute-Metta, Lagos.
The extensive corporate social responsibility intervention, entirely conceived, funded, and executed by the bank’s 2022–2024 Management Trainee cohort, was aimed at delivering immediate, high-impact relief to one of the state’s highly populated and underserved learning communities.
The completed project directly resolves critical water, sanitation, and power deficits at the school through the delivery of newly constructed toilet facilities for both teachers and students, fully renovated classrooms, a functional borehole for clean water access, a new generator set for uninterrupted power supply, and a wide array of educational materials.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Lagos, the Chief Brand and Marketing Officer at Union Bank, Olufunmilola Aluko, highlighted the project as a clear demonstration of corporate purpose matching grassroots needs.
She said, “This project is proof of what happens when young professionals are trusted with purpose. Our 2022–2024 Management Trainees didn’t just complete a CSR mandate, they identified a need, rallied around it, and delivered real change for real children.”
Aluko added that the bank purposefully embeds community service into its human capital development structure to foster an institutional culture of empathy and social responsibility.
“At Union Bank, we believe impact begins from within, and UnionCares exists to channel the talent and passion of our people into communities that need it most,” she stated.
The bank noted that the Ebute-Metta intervention reflects its broader strategic commitment to boosting social development across Nigeria’s public education landscape, particularly within marginalised neighbourhoods where infrastructure decay often hampers learning outcomes.
A representative of the management trainee cohort explained that the choice of Ansar-Ud-Deen Primary School followed a rigorous needs-assessment process conducted by the team to locate where corporate support could yield the most immediate, life-changing benefits for standard public school pupils.
“We saw an environment where students were eager to learn but faced structural bottlenecks like a lack of clean water and inadequate sanitation facilities,” the representative remarked. “By pooling resources and executing this project from scratch, our cohort wanted to ensure these children get the dignity, safety, and modern learning tools they deserve to build a better future.”
School authorities and community leaders at the event expressed gratitude to the financial institution, noting that the timely intervention will drastically reduce absenteeism caused by poor hygiene facilities and improve the overall academic morale of the students.
