MON, SEPT 17 2018-theG&BJournal- The annual The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) annual 5km race held Saturday, September 15, 2018 witnessed some amazing rivalries and in the keenly contested race, Austin Ani of Stanbic IBTC emerged the overall winner with a completion time of 18.45 minutes, after coming second in the 2017 edition. Paul Alabi of Aluko & Oyebode and Danladi Verheijen of Vetiva came second and third, finishing the race in 19.57 minutes and 20.04 minutes respectively. Paul, who is also not new at the NSE Corporate Challenge, was the overall winner in the 2016 edition.
The contest held at the Muri Okunola Park, Lagos, with the purpose of raising funds and creating awareness on the fight against cancer saw also Ngozi Dozie-Madubiuke of Vetiva, with a completion time of 22.48 minutes, emerge the Fastest Female while Sadhisha Dave of PZ Cussons, also female, emerged the winner of the Senior Citizen category for runners aged 50 and above, with a race time of 29.10 minutes.
The over 500 runners at the race were joined by outstanding race ambassadors such as Ikechukwu Onunaku, Immaculate Dache, Monica Ogah, Wole Arole the Prophet, Asiri Comedy to mention a few.
Explaining the NSE’s rationale for throwing its weight behind the race, Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, OON, CEO of NSE, who was ably represented by Ms Tinuade Awe, Executive Director, Regulations, NSE, said during the event that “the cancer epidemic in Nigeria is huge and is set to rise if urgent actions are not taken to raise awareness about early detection of the disease, and to develop practical strategies to address the increasing cancer burden. The NSE Corporate Challenge was birthed to minimize cancer and maximise life by stimulating additional awareness about cancer, advocating for the importance of early testing/detection and more importantly raising funds towards the purchase of Mobile Cancer Centres to provide free screening and treatment in Nigeria”.
Started in 2014, the NSE Corporate Challenge is a one-day competitive and fun-filled 5 kilometre walk, jog and run event aimed at promoting health and wellbeing in the Exchange’s operating environment. It is a professionally organized and volunteer-driven initiative involving companies listed on the Exchange, broker dealer firms, non-listed companies and individuals who identify with the initiative.
Some of the corporate sponsors of this 5th edition include, Dangote Cement, Stanbic IBTC, Beta Glass Plc, FCMB, FBN Holdings, Unilever and IHS Towers, while in-kind contributions and media support were received from Aquadana Water, Emergency Rescue, Bodyline Fitness and Gym Ltd, Airtel Nigeria, Duracell, Lotus Fitness and Spa, PZ Cussons, LASAA, Channels Television, CNBC Africa, Business Day Newspapers, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Television Continental (TVC), AIT, Raypower 100.5 fm, Proshare, KaftaTV and Plus TV .
So far, the NSE Corporate Challenge has been highly successful, recording more than 2,500 runners from over 306 institutions, comprising c-suite level executives, top government officials and celebrities. Celebrities such as Ali Baba,, MI Abaga, Burna Boy, Seyi Shay, Dolapo Oni-Sijuwade, Gideon Okeke, Debola Williams, Tina Mba, Simisola and Yung6ix amongst others, have at some point thrown their weight behind this campaign to “e-Race Cancer” in Nigeria.
