CFAO honours Okoya-Thomas, others at 120th anniversary, promises support for training

CFAO honours Okoya-Thomas, others at 120th anniversary, promises support for training

CFAO recently marked its 120 years of business existence in Nigeria, where it honoured a former Chairman of the company, Chief Molade Okoya-Thomas, with a posthumous award, among other personalities instrumental to the success of the firm.

The company’s milestone event was marked in Lagos with a dinner, which was graced by many dignitaries in the public and private sectors of the economy, among whom were the representative of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu; the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chairman & CEO of CFAO Group, Mr. Richard Bielle; Chairman of CFAO Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode; and representative of the Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria.
The theme of the milestone celebration was given as “Celebrating our legacy, embracing our future”.

Governor of Lagos State, Sanwo-Olu, who commended the historical feats of CFAO in Nigeria, made the posthumous award presentation to Okoya-Thomas.

The governor said, “Being in existence for more than 120 years is no mean feat. CFAO is a shining example for other businesses to follow.”

The Country Delegate of CFAO, Mr. Regis Tromeur, in his speech at the event, promised that the company would continue to support local sustainable initiatives and promote opportunities in education and training.

The Country Delegate, who doubles as the Managing Director, Assene-Laborex Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of CFAO Nigeria, added, “All of us at CFAO Nigeria are marking a milestone of the existence of our company this year with a bountiful sense of history, tradition, and insight. Our company is 120 years old and we would like to celebrate it in line with the importance of our age, achievements, and experience.”

Also speaking, Mr. Richard Bielle, who made a CFAO Corporate Social Responsibility cheque presentation of N5m to the Medical Director of Massey Children Hospital, Dr. Abimbola Mabogunje, stated that CFAO is the market leader in Africa in automotive distribution.

Managing Director of CFAO Mobility Nigeria, Mr. Patrice Porte, stated that “Celebrating our 120th anniversary is very important for our shareholders, our staff, our partners and our customers. This demonstrate the solidity of the group and its ability to overcome business headwinds.”

In their presentations, Deputy Managing Director of CFAO Motors and Head of Marketing and Communications, CFAO Mobility, Mr. Kunle Jaiyesimi, and Ms Funmi Abiola respectively, explained that CFAO, which focuses on health and education in its CSR campaigns, had granted over 800 secondary school scholarships to students since the early 60s.

“We started the tertiary education scholarship scheme about 12 years ago, and we have made well over 100 presentations”, the DMD added.

The dinner event was also used to unveil a Special Anniversary book entitled ‘Celebrating our Legacy, Embracing our Future’, in which the historical antecedents of the company were reviewed.

A statement from the company also said, “CFAO is a prominent player in the mobility sector in Nigeria with products like Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, JCB, Mitsubishi Fuso, Howo, King Long, and services like Loxea and Auto Fast in its portfolio.

“The company also maintains a presence in the healthcare sector with Assene-Laborex, agent of leading pharmaceutical companies like Novartis, GSK, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, Boeringer-Ingelheim, Servier, Jansen Cillag, Innotech’ and EuraCare.”