Community Reps Ayeola And Olayinka Commend Lekki Free Trade Zone Over CSR Initiatives

By Babawale Solomon

Eko Hot Blog reports that Alhaji Wasiu Ayeola and Alhaji Ayodele Olayinka, representing communities benefiting from the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, have commended the LFTZ management for its groundbreaking empowerment gesture.

The Deputy Managing Director of LFTZ, Mrs Ajibode Bolatito, on Wednesday, January 3, 2024, distributed boat engines, fishing nets, a modernized fish kiln, and solar streetlights to four communities, including Tiye, Imobido, Idasho, and Ilege, as part of their community-centric initiatives.

Alhaji Ayeola, Chairman of the Lekki coastal development association, expressed his gratitude, saying that, “I’m very happy because when you represent your people and they’re benefiting, naturally you will be happy.”

He acknowledged this as the first-of-its-kind gathering where the LFTZ gave back to the community in terms of CSR, praising the current management for an open-door policy and ongoing community engagement.

“To best of my knowledge, since I became the leader of the association in 2016, this is the first time ever that we will be gathering together like this to witness Lekki Free Trade Zone giving back to the community in terms of CSR. We are glad for this and would love to appreciate the present management because there are bases to compare,” the community leader stated.

“Apart from this that you have seen, this is just one that attracted people. They’ve been doing so many other things like, open door policy, we have access to them to discuss from time to time, and whatever we feel is against the interest of our people, they create platform upon which we can get to them, so we are happy with the current management.”

Ayeola urged communities to sustain peaceful coexistence and thanked President Bola Tinubu for his vision in establishing the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

“So we want to seize this opportunity to thank Asiwaju Bola Ahmed for his vision. When he came with the idea of free trade zone, naturally the community didn’t want to part with their land, so many carrots were dangled before us, that if we give it out, we will get returns and this is just the beginning of them fulfilling their promise and we just want to urge them to continue in this way,” he said.

While celebrating the empowerment, Ayeola pointed out areas such as employment and power supply that he hopes the LFTZ management will address.

He emphasized the community’s expectations for employment opportunities and urged the zone to involve the community in decisions related to labour.

Additionally, the community representative highlighted the need for improved power supply in the Ibeju Lekki area, where communities have been without electricity for years.

“We need them to look into the issue of unemployment and light in the area of Ibeju Lekki. All the communities in Ibeju Lekki have been in darkness for so many years, so if there are industries here, definitely they’re using light. They’re generating their own light, they should release it to the communities. That should be part of what they should do,” he requested.

Finally, he appreciated the zone for what they have done what they intend to do in the foreseeable future.

On his part, Alhaji Olayinka praised the success of LFTZ initiatives, emphasizing the significance of events in implementing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the communities.

He commended Mrs. Bolatito’s leadership, calling her a rare gem and expressing appreciation for the positive changes she brought to the communities.

“The significance of today is a success that has resounding successes in the future. I’m highly delighted with what happened here today because it’s a way of implementing the tenets of the Mou that binds the government and the community. It’s a way of adding value to the community. A deliberate attempt to develop the community,” Olayinka said.

“We’ve not had it so good like this, the quality of any organisation depends on the leaders, but the type of leader we have now Mrs Ajibode Bolatito is a rare gem. She’s someone that combines attitude and talent. She’s a result oriented woman, she’s calm and calculated, she’s an achiever and builder of achievement.”

He suggested the establishment of skill acquisition centers to empower the youth and enhance their employability within the Lekki Free Trade Zone.

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