In commemoration of World Environment Day 2026, the UBA Foundation, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, has reinforced its commitment to environmental sustainability through a tree-planting exercise at two of Lagos’ most historic educational institutions – King’s College, Lagos, and CMS Grammar School, Bariga.

The exercise marks the commencement of the Foundation’s 2026 Tree Planting for Sustainability Initiative, which is being implemented across selected schools in Nigeria to promote environmental consciousness among young people and encourage climate-positive action.

Observed annually on June 5 and coordinated by the United Nations, World Environment Day is the world’s leading platform for environmental awareness and advocacy. The 2026 theme, “Inspired by Nature. For Climate. For Our Future,” underscores the urgent need for collective action to address climate change and environmental degradation.

Speaking during the exercise at CMS Grammar School, Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, described the initiative as a strategic investment in the future.

Caption: L – R: Group Chief Risk Officer, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Awele Ajibola; Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta; Director and Principal, King’s College, Magaji Zachariah, and King’s College Teacher, Bello A.A.; flanked by students and staff members of King’s College during the UBA Foundation Tree Planting Exercise held at the school in commemoration of World Environment Day 2026 at the weekend

“We want young people to understand that the environment needs our collective support and protection. Through initiatives like this, we are encouraging the next generation to embrace sustainable practices that will help create healthier communities and a better future for all,” she said.

Now in its fourth year, the Tree Planting for Sustainability Initiative is designed to instill environmental responsibility in students by integrating sustainability practices into school communities and empowering young people to become environmental ambassadors.

Atta explained that the choice of King’s College and CMS Grammar School was deliberate, reflecting both institutions’ rich heritage and their capacity to sustain the initiative over time.

“These are iconic institutions with deep historical significance. CMS Grammar School is Nigeria’s oldest secondary school, while King’s College has been shaping leaders for more than a century. We wanted schools where these trees will be nurtured and allowed to flourish for generations to come,” she noted.

The initiative comes at a time when rapid urbanisation has continued to reduce green spaces across many Nigerian cities, highlighting the need for sustained environmental restoration efforts.

“Over the years, development has often taken precedence over environmental preservation, leading to the loss of many trees and green areas. However, there is no better time than now to begin restoring our environment and making a lasting impact,” Atta added.

The exercise forms part of UBA Group’s broader commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles.

Speaking at the event, UBA’s Group Chief Risk Officer, Awele Ajibola, emphasized the importance of proactive environmental stewardship in addressing climate-related risks.

“At UBA, initiatives like this demonstrate our commitment to the environment and the communities we serve. Climate change presents real and growing risks, and as a responsible financial institution, we recognise our role in driving positive environmental action and sustainable development,” Ajibola stated.

Caption: L – R: Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta; Principal, CMS Grammar School, Jacob Ayokunle Ogunyinka, and Health, Safely and Environment (HSE) Manager, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Khalid Agboola; flanked by students of CMS Grammar School, Bariga, during the UBA Foundation Tree Planting Exercise held at the school in commemoration of World Environment Day 2026 at the weekend

The tree-planting exercise is one of several activities being implemented by the Group to commemorate #WED2026. Other activities include UBA’s inauguration as a member of the Finance Taskforce for Plastic Action in Nigeria, Green Talk sessions with customers across branches, the launch of Sustainability Clubs in participating schools, environmental awareness campaigns across the Bank’s communication platforms, and a month-long Green Challenge designed to encourage environmentally responsible behaviour.

Commending the initiative, Principal of CMS Grammar School, Revd. Jacob Ayokunle Ogunyinka, described the exercise as a practical extension of environmental education.

“Our students learn about the importance of trees and environmental conservation in the classroom. Seeing these principles demonstrated in practice deepens their understanding and inspires greater responsibility towards protecting the environment,” he said.

Similarly, Principal of King’s College, Magaji Zachariah, expressed appreciation to UBA Foundation for selecting the institution as one of the beneficiaries of the programme and for investing in environmental education.

Beyond planting trees, the Foundation engaged students in discussions on environmental stewardship, encouraging responsible practices such as proper waste disposal, water conservation, recycling, and energy efficiency.

Referencing the famous words of Nobel Laureate and environmentalist Wangari Maathai, Atta reminded participants of the importance of immediate action: “The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second-best time is now.”

UBA Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group. The Foundation is committed to the socio-economic development of communities across Africa through strategic interventions focused on education, environmental sustainability, economic empowerment, and special projects.

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has deepened its longstanding relationship with the academic community and reaffirmed its commitment to innovation, youth empowerment, and nation-building by commissioning the UBA Innovation Hub and Business Office at the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

The landmark facility was commissioned by the Group Chairman, UBA, Tony Elumelu, represented by Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, supported by other senior executives of the bank and members of the university leadership, led by the Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos.

The commissioning marks another defining chapter in the enduring relationship between UBA and one of Nigeria’s foremost institutions of higher learning. The project also reflects UBA’s historic connection with the University of Lagos and Nigeria’s education ecosystem. 

UBA was the first bank to establish a campus branch in Nigeria in the 1960s, pioneering financial inclusion and institutional banking support within the nation’s higher education environment.

Adding a personal dimension to the occasion, UBA Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, himself an alumnus of the University of Lagos, described the commissioning as both symbolic and strategic.

“Returning to my alma mater for this commissioning makes this moment particularly meaningful. Universities remain the birthplace of ideas, innovation, and future leadership. Through this investment, UBA is reaffirming its belief in young people and in the role institutions like the University of Lagos will continue to play in shaping Africa’s future.”

He added that UBA’s philosophy of empowering people and building institutions remains central to its growth agenda across Africa.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Folasade Tolulope Ogunsola, who emphasised that Elumelu remains “a son of the university”, commended UBA for sustaining a relationship built on impact, innovation, and institutional support.

“The Group Chairman of UBA, Mr Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu, CFR, one of Africa’s most celebrated entrepreneurs and philanthropists, is, in the truest and most meaningful sense, a son of this University,” Ogunsola said.

Ogunsola continued, “The intellectual rigour, the ambition, and the broadness of vision that he would go on to demonstrate as he transformed a struggling bank into a pan-African institution of global stature, that fire was sharpened here.”

The newly commissioned four-floor complex has been designed as a shared platform that promotes collaboration between academia and industry. Under the arrangement, UBA will operate its dedicated Business Office within the facility, providing direct access to innovative banking services, financial advisory services, enterprise support, and engagement opportunities for students, faculty, and the wider university community. The remaining floors of the complex will serve broader institutional and developmental purposes for the University’s use.

Also speaking, UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, noted that the Innovation Hub and Business Office represent an intentional investment in talent, enterprise, and future economic transformation.

“UBA continues to create platforms that connect knowledge with opportunity. This facility will provide students and the university community access to ideas, networks, innovation support, and financial services that help unlock potential and prepare future leaders for a rapidly changing world,” he said.

In another major highlight of the event, the University of Lagos announced the renewal of UBA’s sponsorship and support for the Professorial Chair in Finance, further strengthening collaboration between academia and industry and advancing thought leadership, research, and professional excellence in financial studies.

Alawuba stressed that the UBA Professorial Chair remains the bank’s most enduring academic contribution.

“Our most enduring academic contribution remains the UBA Professorial Chair of Finance, established in January 1972 as the first-ever Finance Professorial Chair in a Nigerian university. It was designed to strengthen finance education, deepen banking research, and support thought leadership in Nigeria’s financial sector. I am pleased that the Executive Management of UBA has approved an additional ₦61.67 million to further strengthen the Endowment Fund for the Chair and sustain its work through the current professorship tenure.”

The commissioning of the UBA Innovation Hub and Business Office reinforces the bank’s broader mission of enabling sustainable development through strategic investments in education, entrepreneurship, technology, and human capital across Africa.

United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology.

Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade T. Ogunsola and Group Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Oliver Alawuba, during  the presentation of N60m endowment fund towards  research  and development in Finance at the commissioning of  UBA Innovation  Hub and Business Office built by UBA Group at a ceremony held at the University’s campus in Akoka, Lagos  on Monday

L-r: Acting Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Chidi Okpala; Registrar and Secretary to Council, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Abosede V, Wickliffe ; Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA, Oliver Alawuba; Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola; and Group Deputy Managing Director, UBA, Chukwuma Nweke, during  the presentation of N60m endowment fund towards  research  and development in Finance at the commissioning of  UBA Innovation  Hub and Business Office built by UBA Group at a ceremony held at the University’s campus in Akoka, Lagos  on Monday

l-r: Deputy Vice Chancellor, Management Services, University of Lagos(UNILAG), Professor Muyiwa Falaiye;  Group Deputy Managing Director, UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA(UBA), Chukwuma Nweke; Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade T. Ogunsola; Group Managing Director/CEO, UBA, Oliver Alawuba; Registrar and Secretary to Council, UNILAG, Abosede V, Wickliffe; Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, UBA, Chidi Okpala;  and Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academics and Research, Professor Mattew Ilori, during  the presentation of N60m endowment fund towards  research  and development in Finance at the commissioning of  UBA Innovation  Hub and Business Office built by UBA Group at a ceremony held at the University’s campus in Akoka, Lagos  on Monday

L-r: Occupier of UBA Professorial Chair in Finance, University of Lagos(UNILAG), Professor Lawal Adedoyin ; Group Managing Director/CEO, United Bank for Africa(UBA), Oliver Alawuba; Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Folasade Ogunsola; and Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) UBA Professorial Chair in Finance, UNILAG, professor Isola Wakeel, during  the presentation of N60m endowment fund towards  research  and development in Finance at the commissioning of  UBA Innovation  Hub and Business Office built by UBA Group at a ceremony held at the University’s campus in Akoka, Lagos  on Monday

Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening diaspora engagement, advancing healthcare development in Nigeria through the introduction of its healthcare investment proposition to the Nigerian-American medical community at the 2026 ANPA Carolinas Symposium held in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The ANPA Carolinas Symposium, hosted annually by the South Carolina and North Carolina Chapters of the Association of Nigerian Physicians in the Americas (ANPA), convenes over 170 physicians and healthcare professionals for medical and scientific dialogue on issues impacting communities across North America, the Caribbean, and Africa, particularly among people of Nigerian descent.

Speaking at the event, UBA’s Head of Diaspora Banking, Anant Rao, made a compelling case for structured diaspora participation in Nigeria’s healthcare transformation, encouraging attendees to expand their contribution beyond remittances toward long-term institution-building.

“The financial infrastructure required to connect your success abroad to sustainable institutional impact at home has not been intentionally designed for diaspora healthcare investors until now,” Rao said.

During his presentation, Rao introduced the ANPA–UBA Diaspora Healthcare Investment Platform — a professionally managed investment vehicle designed to channel diaspora capital into specialist hospitals, diagnostic centres, telemedicine infrastructure, and medical training institutions across Nigeria.

“Every dollar invested delivers a dual return — creating value for investors while contributing meaningfully to Nigeria’s healthcare future. We now have the regulatory framework, banking infrastructure, governance structures, and institutional commitment to make this possible,” he added.

Under the proposed structure, UBA will serve as custodian and structuring bank, while United Capital Asset Management, one of Nigeria’s leading asset managers with over ₦1.2 trillion in assets under management, will act as fund manager.

As part of deepening engagement with the Nigerian-American medical community, Rao also proposed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between UBA and the two ANPA chapters. The proposed collaboration is anchored on six strategic pillars: preferred banking offerings for ANPA members; quarterly financial education sessions; the joint Healthcare Infrastructure Fund; a dedicated ANPA Wealth and Legacy Desk; access to group-rate family healthcare plans through Avon HMO; and a UBA co-matching contribution framework to support qualifying impact vehicles under the Pearl Endowment Fund.

The initiative represents a further expansion of UBA’s diaspora value proposition, which currently includes Non-Resident Nigerian (NRN) accounts in multiple currencies, fixed-income and dollar-denominated investment solutions through United Capital, elder-care trust solutions under the Homeland Anchor Care Trust programme in partnership with Avon HMO, and private wealth management offerings tailored to senior diaspora professionals.

The 2026 ANPA Carolinas Symposium marks another milestone in UBA’s strategic engagement with the diaspora community and reinforces the Bank’s long-held belief that diaspora capital can play a transformative role in accelerating healthcare and infrastructure development across Africa.