The Group Managing Director, Diamond Bank Plc, Dr. Alex Otti, says investment in personnel is crucial to the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises.
He also emphasised the need for organisations to assist governments to improve the living standard of the people.
The group managing director said his bank was involved in initiatives aimed boosting the growth of the SMEs sector in the country.
Otti spoke in Lagos when the bank donated two buildings to the Ikoyi Passport Office of the Nigerian Immigration Service.
He said, “In Diamond Bank, we invest in people through our support for the SMEs. We have instituted a programme called Building Entrepreneurs Today where people with ideas are trained to become business owners and employers of labour. We also believe in helping government to make lives meaningful for the citizens.”
The former Secretary General of Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, who was at the event, said it was essential for commercial organisations to be alive to their social responsibilities.
He noted that there were global awards for companies, which performed well in the area of social responsibility.
He said, “I am not surprised at the wonderful work that Diamond Bank is doing particularly in the area of community intervention. The quality of leadership being provided by the GMD is inspiring and worthy of emulation by other corporate bodies.”
The Minister of Interior, Mr. Patrick Abba-Moro, said the projects were proofs of the present administration’s successful partnership with the private sector.
He noted further that President Goodluck Jonathan government believed so much in the contribution of the private sector to the realisation of the government’s transformation agenda. “Public-Private-Partnership initiative which is part of the transformation agenda of the Federal Government is succeeding. The PPP is at the core of our economic policies and we are pursuing it with vigour. We are collaborating with the private sector and we are recording giant strides. Diamond Bank has been a great partner in this regard,” he added.
The Deputy Comptroller of Immigration, Mrs. Modupe Anyalechi, who is also Passport Control Officer, commended Diamond Bank for renovating and constructing two buildings at the passport office.
She recalled that Guaranty Trust Bank and Access Bank had earlier constructed two waiting lounges at the passport office.
The DCI said the banks were fulfilling parts of their corporate social responsibility tasks, adding that the developments would help the NIS to serve Nigerians better.
While thanking the minister for approving the projects, Anyalechi emphasised the cooperation and support of the NIS officials at the passport office, which she noted led to modest transformation recorded at the office.
