Oceanic Bank Extends CSR with Tree Planting in Deserts

Oceanic Bank plc, Nigeria’s financial powerhouse has initiated discussion with some northern governors with a view to acquire desert lands in the border areas to be used for Getropha tree planting and other agricultural development purposes.
Mrs. Cecelia Ibru, managing director of Oceanic Bank, who disclosed this during a courtesy visit to, Alhaji Umar Faruk Umar, Emir of Daura said the bank had already commissioned research to explore the possibilities of reclaiming the desert for getropha planting.
Ibru emphasized the need for the reclamation of more lands because many of them especially along the borders have already been lost due to desert encroachment and other factors and therefore an issue that should not be ignored.
"What we need to do now is to sit down and restructure it in such a way that we will reclaim the land and have people around who will inhabit it, as they did in Israel and other countries of the world", she said.
She said her bank's intention is to explore more possibilities of developing the north, especially in the field of agriculture and alternative power generation using wind mill, solar and bio fuels as well as areas of transportation and small scale agricultural businesses.
The managing director said as a growing nation, banks ought to do whatever they could to ameliorate the effect of the present economic meltdown which has affected them and other institutions all over the world.
She then sought the support of the emir as the bank extension will come to his domain in a bid to take banking to the grassroots and enable them to extract value in the banking initiatives.
Alhaji Umar Faruk Umar, in his response, thanked the management of the bank for the visit and assured them of his support towards the new branch the bank is intending to open in his domain.
The emir, who urged the bank to always strive and bring out initiatives that are aimed at providing support to the local businesses and the economy, also implored them to brace up the new challenges ahead.