First Bank supports UNILORIN Marathon with N1.5m

First Bank on Monday donated N1.5 million to the management of the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) in support of the university toward a successful hosting of UNILORIN Marathon.
The event is scheduled to hold in October.
The cheque, presented to the Vice Chancellor, AbdulGaniyu Ambali, by the Group Head of the bank, Mr Babatunde Salami, was part of a courtesy visit to UNILORIN by the top management of the bank on Monday in Ilorin.
Salami described University of Ilorin as a worthy and good partner with the bank.
“A university that has come this long way after 40 years of its existence is still breaking grounds in all manners of academic and intellectual pursuits, needed to be supported,” he said.
The statement quoted Salami as saying that the bank would not only support the marathon financially, but will also participate in the event by presenting its own team.
“I believe that by so doing, we would have shown our support as an institution, we equally would have shown our support as individuals,” he added.
Ambali, who was represented by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Management Services, Yisa Fakunle, acknowledged the contributions of the First Bank, especially toward convocation ceremonies of the university.
He said that the marathon event “is going to be unique because it coincides with our 40th Anniversary and it will coincide with our convocation period.’’
The Vice Chancellor commended the enthusiasm shown by bank to participate in the marathon, adding, “sport is a very important activity in the affairs of any university.’’
“We compete at the West African level, inter-university level and the university level and it is something that we take very seriously,” Ambali said.
He said that the university had plans to build a state-of the- art gymnasium.
Ambali, however, enjoined banks and other corporate organisations to endow professorial chairs in the university.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the UNILORIN Sports Council, Uche Eke said that the marathon would be the first of its kind to be organised by any Nigeria universities.
He said that the Sovereign Campus Concepts Ltd. is a competent partner in the event.