The Board of Directors of Lafarge Africa Plc has announced the appointment of Mr. Bruno Bayet as the Company’s new Chief Financial Officer, effective October 1st, 2016. The group also commissioned new homes for the relocation of Oke-Oko Sekoni and Oke-Oko Egbado, two communities in Ewekoro Local Government, Ogun State on Friday, September 30, 2016. A total of 21 units of 8-room bungalows equipped with basic social amenities such as potable water, electricity and access road were constructed for the use of the communities on the border of its Ewekoro cement Plants at the cost of N750 million.
Bruno Bayet, a Belgian, holds a Business Engineer degree from UniversitéCatholique de Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), studied in Georgetown University (MBA program) and specialized in Financial Risks Management.
He was Manager, Corporate Finance with PricewaterhouseCooper from 1998 to 2005, and Senior Analyst in the Investments team ofGroupeBruxelles Lambert from 2005 to 2011.
Prior to joining Lafarge, he was an Executive Committee Member of Enterprise Generale Malta Forrest (RDC) from 2011 to 2013 and had gained over 15 years’ experience in Materials and Construction Industry.
Mr. Bayet was appointed a Director of Ashakacem Plc in December 2013, with responsibility for the Expansion and Power Projects, combining the role of Chief Financial Officer for AshakaCem from September 2014. Before his recent appointment, he became the Strategy Director for Lafarge Africa Plc in April 2016.
A statement sent to Nigeria Business HiLights revealed that the relocation of both communities to new sites is borne out of Lafarge Africa’s commitment to good Health & Safety standards and the obligation of ensuring that there is zero harm to stakeholders in the course of doing business. It was premised on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in 2013 by both communities and Lafarge Africa Plc.
In attendance at the commissioning ceremony, which was applauded by the visibly excited members of the communities as well as their friends and neighbours were the Ogun State Commissioner of Community Development and Cooperatives, Mr. Gbenga Ademosun, the Ewekoro representative in the Ogun State House of Assembly, Hon. Israel Jolaoso and the Chairman, Ewekoro Local Government, Honorable Sabitu Olomide. So also were traditional rulers including the Olu of Itori, Oba Abdul Fatai Akorede Akamo and the Onipapa of Papalanto, Oba Rasaki Jimoh.
Explaining the rationale for the undertaking, the Managing Director of Lafarge Africa Plc, Mrs. Adepeju Adebajo stated that the relocation became necessary due to the proximity of the two communities to its quarry sites in Ewekoro. In her words, “as a company committed to Health, Safety and the environment, we are concerned about the welfare of people in our host communities. We will continue to uphold our value of Health & Safety without compromise in all aspects of our operations.”
Speakers at the commissioning ceremony, including the Hon. Commissioner for Community Development and Cooperatives and the Chairman, Ewekoro Local Government, appreciated the good gesture by Lafarge Africa Plc in complementing the efforts of the Ogun State Government, while acknowledging that the development of new sites for Sekoni and Egbado will birth semi-urbanization in Ewekoro.
The community leaders and indigenes who spoke at the commissioning ceremony expressed delight at Lafarge Africa for the timely and quality job done on the buildings. They expressed optimism that the new sites will give them a new lease of life with improved standards of living.
