Sterling Bank MD spearheads crowdfunding for beach clean up

By Peter Egwuatu

The Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Sulaiman, has spearheaded a crowdfunding project that would help to fund the clean-up of beaches across the country.

Disclosing this at the flag off of the Alpha Beach, Lekki, Lagos clean-up exercise, Ms Olapeju Ibekwe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sterling One Foundation, said that cleaning of beaches would empower communities on the coastline.

She stated that the environmental sanitation, waste collection, sorting and recycling would translate to community empowerment.

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On the sustainability of the project, Ibekwe said: “The funds realised from recycled  wastes  would be used to sustain the project. Sterling One Foundation is an investor in giving.ng –  the crowd raising platform on which funds for the project were raised.

“The project was spearheaded by Sulaiman, in his personal capacity, and set up on giving.ng. 

The multi-city beach clean-up project has announced seasoned environmentalists as its governance board members. They are Taiwo Adewole, Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola and Akanbi Williams.

In this role, they will provide support, guidance, and oversight to the continent’s most ambitious clean-up programme seeking to keep beaches clean and fresh on Nigeria’s extensive 853km coastal line, which cuts across nine states.”

Commenting further on the beach cleanup, Ibekwe said: “The exercise was not mere clean-up but a project that would address at least  seven of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nation.”

She said that the Foundation was looking for more partners to drive the project.

According to her, micro plastics have negative health implications on humans if they find their ways into fishes consumed by humans. So the collaborative efforts would be  required to ensure that Nigerians would live healthier in a more caring and sustainable environment.

“This beach will be adopted and cleaned throughout the year, and we are going to be adopting more beaches in the course of the year. We believe it is a drop in the ocean. It will cause some ripples and the ripples will go far to ensure that our coast lines and beaches are comparable to the best in the world,” Ibekwe added.  

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