Show of Fair Play and Collaboration as Wema Bank Rounds Up Wemalympics 2022

Wema Bank Plc., over the weekend hosted the fifth edition of its annual sports competition for employees across the different regions of the bank. Known as Wemalympics, the sporting event is arguably the largest internal sports events for employees organised by a bank or corporate body in Nigeria. Through Wemalympics, Wema Bank not only encourages collaboration and staff engagement, but promotes fitness and mental wellbeing of employees among other benefits.

Featuring sporting disciplines such as football, table tennis, arm wrestling, scrabble and chess, this year’s event saw the Southwest Region emerge overall winners. The event, which held at the UNILAG Sports Complex on October 8, 2022, had over 1,000 members of staff and their families in attendance, drawing praise from Ademola Adebise, MD/CEO of Wema Bank.

“I am impressed by the turnout of staff for this year’s Wemalympics,” Mr Adebise said.

“It attests to what we have achieved with Wemalympics, which is increased bonding and cooperation among staff of the bank. I am also delighted to see the healthy competition this event has elicited among the staff, and I applaud them for that.”

Adebise, while congratulating the South-West team, for finishing tops on the league table, also commended the teams from the other regions for putting up remarkable efforts.

“I congratulate Team South-West, the overall winners of the competition, for that feat. It shows their level of preparation. I also congratulate the other teams for their efforts. For us, this competition is not just about winning medals and trophies but also about the demonstration of team spirit and hard work. I believe that all our staff will extend these universal sports virtues to the workplace,” he concluded.

Tajudeen Bakare, Head of Operations at Wema Bank and Chairperson of the Wemalympics 2022 committee, in his own remarks at the event, informed that “our staff are our greatest asset, which is why their health and fitness matter to us. We believe that in treating employees right and giving them a platform like Wemalympics, we are putting them in the best shape – mentally and physically – to keep delivering premium customer experience to the public,” he explained.

On the impact of the initiative, Ololade Ogungbenro, the Head of Human Capital Management, enthused that the exercise is all about bonding among staff members and among family members of staff.

“We spend about 70 percent of our time in the office, so we created this platform to help our staff play and have fun together. One striking feature about our bank is our belief in the role the family plays in the life of our employees. It is why we invited and asked that the spouses and children of our staff take part in this year’s event.”

In response, a staff of the bank and Zonal Service Manager of Ogun Zone, Dominic Oko, said, “I am delighted to be here. I have been part of Wemalympics from inception, and I intend to keep attending. The event is fun and carries all the values we hold high at Wema Bank. I must commend the Management of the bank for being consistent with this initiative.”