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#MTNF@10: Fashola Advocates Flexible Regulations for CSR
Mr. Babatunde Fashola, immediate past Governor of Lagos State, has described Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in its purest sense as business and entrepreneurship with a conscience hence there should not be coercive regulations.
Fashola, who spoke in Lagos at the 10th Anniversary of MTN Foundation, said for corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities to retain its concept as a voluntary contribution to better society, it must be allowed to flow from the conscience and conviction of such corporate organizations.
According to Fashola, seen from this perspective, no attempt by any government in the country should be made to compel by law acts of corporate social responsibility because such compulsion would erase the line of distinction between Governmental responsibility for social services and the voluntary intervention of companies who act as a matter of conscience and conviction for the common good.
The former Governor, who spoke on the topic, “The Role of CSR in Nigeria’s Sustainable Development”, however, advocated some form of regulation and standards, but which, according to him, “should be a matter for the corporate community, using platforms like the established Chambers of Commerce or Associations of Manufactures who can draw up a charter of ethics”.
Such regulations, the former State Chief Executive said, “must be competitive and scored for public consumption and information so that companies are ranked, evaluated and penalized according to their compliance but there must be no discrimination or penalty for the companies that do not do CSR because it is voluntary.”
Arguing against the use of CSR to cover up wrongdoings or unethical practices in a host community, Fashola, who insisted that “corporations must be just before they can be generous”, declared, “If your operations pollute the environment, harms citizens, dis-empowers your employees or their families, no amount of profit devoted to CSR from such unjust, unethical or harmful operations can assuage the deep ethical questions raised by such non-salutary conduct”.
He warned, “The CEO, management and owners (shareholders) of every corporation that seeks to undertake CSR must pay as much attention to their CSR motives and activities as they do to their balance sheets”, adding that they must answer such questions as whether, for example, they are running a financial institution that abuse the dignity of womenfolk by using them to mobilize deposits and setting unreasonable targets for them.
“Are they operating a telecoms company whose network is still carrying unregistered subscribers who remain anonymous and threaten our national security? Are they employers who do not give enough paid leave to nursing mothers and therefore undermine our National exclusive breastfeeding policy? Will our nation be better served by the profits saved from such practices or by breeding a healthier generation of Nigerians who are breast fed by nursing mothers who get 6 months paid leave?”,he asked.
Other questions which corporate organizations should answer while engaging in CSR, Fashola said, include whether or not they are employers who deduct PAYE from their employees but fail to remit it, oil sector operators whose activities pollute the waters and destroy the ecological life of the community they operate in or managers of airlines which never keep to schedule or operate substandard aircraft.
Urging shareholders of corporate organizations to raise such questions at AGMs and set compliance levels periodically, the former Governor, who said there are many more such questions that relate to other sectors, added, “It seems to me that such practices in themselves undermine national development and no amount of CSR can replace it”.
“Therefore, the operational actions of corporations must first contribute to development before CSR can help to sustain it”, he said adding, “There is a deep moral issue embedded in CSR. Every CEO must seek to find it, redefine it, improve on it and set even higher standards”.
According to the former Lagos State helmsman, “Corporate Social Responsibility is more than charity. In its purest form, it is business and entrepreneurship with a conscience. In this way, Corporate Social Responsibility will greatly assist in Nigeria’s quest for sustainable development”.
Quoting copiously from his past speeches on the same subject, Fashola noted that CSR entailed an organization considering the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of its activities on customers, suppliers, employees, shareholders, communities and other stakeholders, as well as the environment.
Fashola maintained that to be considered effective, corporate social responsibility “must be an integrated part of day-to-day business, engaging all stakeholders and including strategies to support individual managers to make socially responsible decisions, conform to ethical behaviour and obey the law.”
The former Governor, who noted that CSR meant different things to different people, however, urged organizations to key into the concept and spirit of the practice adding, “Society as a whole will fully appreciate it and this will greatly improve our environment for all our benefit. Furthermore, this will encourage all of us to participate in the much needed improvement of our nation”.
He argued that good CSR policy should compel businesses to comply with the letter and spirit of the law, to adopt fair trading practices, and generally to maintain high ethical standards in their relationships with shareholders and the general public in accordance with accepted norms.
“For every corporate organisation, CSR should be an in-built mechanism that moderates business practices and shuts out the notion of profits at all costs”, Fashola said adding, “Indeed, I believe that any Chief Executive of a business who intends to prosper must pay the same if not a higher level of attention to its CSR compliance as he does to the company’s balance”.
The former Governor had drawn from the various CSR initiatives of MTN in Lagos State under his stewardship to buttress the place of ethics in corporate support.
“Let me start by asking whether anybody thinks that MTN’s operational activity as a phone company has adversely affected the vocational and technical skills and development of our youth in Lagos.
“I ask this question because I know that the MTN Foundation singlehandedly equipped a laboratory with vocational and technical equipment for the training of our young children in our technical college in Ikorodu and I know that Nigerite also set up a training school in the same college to train young people in modern roofing techniques,” he said.
Continuing, Fashola cited several other CSR initiatives of MTN Foundation. “Let me again ask if anybody can fairly allege or demonstrate that MTN’s operational activity is linked to increasing cases of Kidney diseases because I know that MTN Foundation intervened in collaboration with us to provide 2 Haemodialysis machines in our General Hospital in Igando, Alimosho, although we have since completed the Gbagada Cardiac and Kidney centre that now has 24 dialysis machines.
“Of course I will also ask if anybody can assert that MTN’s operational activity was responsible for the past neglect of public school infrastructure, because over 7 years, I know that MTN foundation was a major partner and donor to our ‘Adopt a School’ policy by which we got many individuals and corporates to partner with us to revamp the quality of our public schools.”
According to the former Lagos State helmsman MTN’s operational activity could also not be responsible for the absence of emergency telephone lines on our highways because, “I know that MTN foundation worked with our Government to install free emergency phones on the 3rd Mainland Bridge which was eventually unsuccessful because the phones were vandalized.”
Fashola urged the company to continue in its path of CSR in accordance with its mission to be the best, which, according to him are the “underpinning philosophies of MTN as a Telecommunications company”, adding, “Dr. Dozie provides clarity of vision and purpose behind the MTN foundation, which is the CSR platform of the MTN business”.
Fidson Healthcare Plc has commended the Bank of Industry (BoI) for its pivotal role in facilitating concessionary financing that is accelerating the growth of Nigeria’s pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, following a high-level visit by delegations from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and BoI to the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Sango-Ota, Ogun State.
The visit formed part of the implementation of the recently signed €50 million healthcare financing partnership between EIB Global and BoI, designed to strengthen local production of medicines, vaccines, diagnostics, and other critical healthcare products in Nigeria.
As Nigeria’s leading development finance institution, BoI has championed efforts to unlock long-term capital for strategic sectors, including healthcare manufacturing, in line with national industrialisation and health security objectives.
Speaking on behalf of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, Rotimi Akinde, Executive Director, Corporate Finance, Sustainability and Investments, highlighted the Bank’s longstanding support for Fidson and the strategic importance of the healthcare sector.
“Fidson Healthcare Plc is one of Nigeria’s foremost pharmaceutical companies and has maintained a robust relationship with BoI since 2010. Over the years, we have provided concessionary financing to support its expansion plans, and the company has grown significantly as a result of that partnership,” he said.
Akinde noted that healthcare manufacturing remains a key pillar of BoI’s corporate strategy and aligns strongly with Nigeria’s economic development priorities.
The EIB-backed facility is part of broader efforts under the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative to strengthen healthcare manufacturing ecosystems across Africa and reduce dependence on imported medical products.
Speaking on the significance of the intervention, Ambroise Fayolle, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, described Fidson as one of the first beneficiaries of the EIB-BoI healthcare financing programme.
“A few months after signing the €50 million health financing agreement with the Bank of Industry, I am pleased to visit one of the first beneficiaries of this credit line, Fidson Healthcare, one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers in Nigeria,” Fayolle said.
He noted that the partnership reflects EIB’s commitment to supporting local production capacity, strengthening healthcare resilience and expanding access to affordable, high-quality medicines across the continent.
For Fidson Healthcare, the financing represents another milestone in a growth journey that has been closely supported by BoI over the last decade and a half.
According to Biola Adebayo, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidson Healthcare Plc, the company’s relationship with BoI has been instrumental in transforming it into one of Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturing platforms.
“Our relationship with BoI dates back to 2010 when the Bank recognised our growth aspirations and began providing concessionary funding. Since then, our trajectory has remained firmly upward,” Adebayo said.
“From a workforce of about 250 employees in 2010, we have grown to approximately 1,800 employees today. BoI’s support also made it possible for us to invest in green manufacturing and environmentally friendly production processes.”
Adebayo noted that Fidson now operates one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa and continues to invest aggressively in quality assurance and global standards.
“We are not only home to one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Nigeria but also one of the most advanced in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the only facility where you will find ten dosage forms in operation, and we are currently undergoing four medicine prequalification processes simultaneously. With EIB and BoI on our side, we believe we can achieve our ambitious vision for healthcare manufacturing and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s health security and industrial development,” he said.
The EIB-BoI healthcare financing programme is expected to provide long-term patient capital to pharmaceutical manufacturers and other healthcare enterprises, enabling them to scale operations, improve quality standards, expand employment, and strengthen domestic value chains.
The facility is aligned with Nigeria’s healthcare and industrialisation priorities, the African Union’s target of producing 60 per cent of vaccines and essential medicines locally by 2040, and broader efforts to position Nigeria as a manufacturing hub for healthcare products across West Africa.
A commission of inquiry set up by the Benue State Government to investigate the state’s income and expenditure between 2015 and 2023 has uncovered N139.8 billion in unaccounted public funds.
Governor Hyacinth Alia
Justice Jubril Idrisu (retd), chairman of the Benue State Income and Expenditure Commission of Inquiry, disclosed this at the weekend 2026 while presenting the commission’s report to Governor Hyacinth Alia at the Government House, Makurdi.
Idrisu said the commission’s findings showed that the state generated more than N826.5 billion in revenue during the period under review, while expenditure stood at about N683.4 billion.
According to him, the records revealed an unaccounted balance of approximately N139.8 billion, which the commission recommended should be recovered from persons found responsible.
“The commission’s findings, contained in two volumes, revealed significant concerns in the management of public finances during the period under review.
“Records showed that the state generated over N826.5 billion in revenue, while expenditure stood at about N683.4 billion, leaving an unaccounted balance of approximately N139.8 billion,” he said.
The retired jurist explained that the commission, inaugurated in June 2025, was mandated to examine the income and expenditure of the immediate past administration and the 23 local government councils between May 29, 2015, and May 28, 2023.
He said the panel also uncovered questionable loan transactions involving some financial institutions and local government councils, including repayments that far exceeded the original loan amounts without adequate documentation.
Idrisu further disclosed that investigators identified irregular transfers of public funds to certain financial institutions without sufficient records or proof of legitimacy, recommending appropriate recoveries where necessary.
He stressed the need for stronger financial controls, including proper authorisation of online transactions by designated officers and an end to the practice of issuing blank pre-signed mandates.
According to him, such practices undermine transparency and accountability in public financial management.
Receiving the report, Alia reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to transparency, accountability and institutional reforms.
Represented by his deputy, Dr Sam Ode, Alia commended the panel for their courage and painstaking assignment undertaken in the public interest.
He said Justice Idrisu was selected to head the commission because of his reputation as a fearless jurist and a man of integrity.
He expressed confidence that implementation of the commission’s recommendations would strengthen institutions, curb the misuse of public resources and ensure accountability for those found culpable.
He acknowledged the challenges encountered by the commission, including difficulties in obtaining information and cooperation from some individuals and institutions, but commended members for their resilience and dedication.
He also apologised for logistical difficulties experienced by the commission, noting that the present administration inherited serious institutional and administrative challenges at the inception of its tenure.
He assured the panel that its work would serve as a critical reference point in the state’s efforts to rebuild public confidence and restore accountability in governance.
The governor added that future generations would look back at the report as evidence of the commission’s contribution to strengthening transparency and responsible management of public resources in Benue.
The UK Government has announced the appointment of Mr Peter Vowles as the next British High Commissioner to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Mr Vowles succeeds Dr Richard Montgomery CMG and is expected to take up his post in Abuja in September 2026. Dr Montgomery remains in post until that time.
Mr Vowles brings extensive diplomatic and development experience to the role, having served as His Majesty’s Ambassador to Zimbabwe from 2023 to 2026 and previously as Ambassador to Myanmar from 2021 to 2022.
He has held senior leadership positions across the FCDO and its predecessor department DFID, including as Transformation Director and Director for Asia, Caribbean and Overseas Territories.
Earlier in his career, Mr Vowles worked in international development across South Asia, Central Africa and East Africa, including postings in Bangladesh, India, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya. He began his career in Zimbabwe, where he worked in education and development.
Peter Vowles said: “I am honoured to be appointed as British High Commissioner to Nigeria. Nigeria is a country of immense importance to the United Kingdom, and I look forward to working closely with Nigerian partners to strengthen our relationship across trade, development and security.”
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