Group stakes N5m in Lagos school renovation project

Following the displacement of over 300 students of the Tolu Nursery and Primary school in Apapa-Ajegunle, Lagos State, an Information and Communications (ICT) company, System Applications Production (SAP) in collaboration with AYECI Africa, has staked N5 million for the renovation of a six-classroom block of the school.

The newly commissioned school block which was said to have been destroyed by a storm for over nine months received attention when AYECI Africa, a non-governmental organisation sourced for support from SAP.

According to the Executive Director, AYECI Africa, Ifeoma Adibe-Chukwuka, a rough estimate of the renovation project was about N5m, which was an upshot of the original budget the group had planned. The budget she noted covered total re-roofing, painting, drilling of bore hole, provision of toilets, furniture and white boards among other expenses.

Lauding SAP for funding the project as part of its corporate social responsibilities, she highlighted theft and bureaucracy as part of the challenges encountered in the course of executing the project.

SAP Marketing Manager, West Africa, Juliet Omorodion and Marketing Executive, SAP Nigeria, Dumebi Okeleke, in their respective remarks expressed their delight on the success of the project, urging the school to properly maintain the facilities.

“Working in a place like this is frustrating as this ‘rub my back I rub your back’ phenomenon was inherent and posed a stumbling block to the commissioning of the project, but we thank God for the success so far.”

“They forget the interest of the people who need the development. We hope they maintain the facilities because, we paid a price for it,” the duo stressed.
Education Secretary of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Education Authority, Aboluwodi Ademofe, on his part, said the success of the project is a dream come true because many students were displaced and they had to cope with squatting in other schools as a result of the challenge.Ademofe who appealed for more support for other school projects in the area revealed that about 500 students are expected to return to school.