DG Layi Abidoye praises Rotary Ikoyi Metro’s $136,000 Polio donation on his second club visit of the new Rotary year
Rotarian Layi Abidoye, District Governor of Rotary International District 9112, visited the Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro at BWC Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Tuesday, 7 July 2026, making the club the second in the district to host him in the new Rotary year.
During the visit, Abidoye reviewed the club’s workbook, examined its achievements from the previous Rotary year and discussed its plans for the months ahead.
The District Governor commended the club’s leadership and the unity members displayed while walking him through their records. His visit came three days after his own installation as the third Governor of Rotary International District 9112, succeeding Rotarian Lanre Adedoyin.
Assistant Governor Dr Laurine Ubanozie, who chaired the DG Visit Planning Committee and also serves as the club’s Learning Facilitator and Sergeant at Arms, described the preparations behind the event. Ubanozie is a past president of Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro and currently sits as Vice Chairman of the District’s Awards and Recognition Committee.
“I rate this year’s DG visit ninety percent, to be fair to myself,” Ubanozie said.
“Planning started late, but teamwork came into play. Everyone pulled their strength, time and commitment together within the shortest possible period. We woke up to the responsibility that the District Governor was visiting us, and I am happy that nothing we had lined up was left undelivered.”
Immediate Past President Alex Chukwu offered a fuller account of the club’s recent record. Speaking on the global recognition secured during his tenure, Chukwu shared the credit with the wider membership.
“I feel elated that the global and district recognitions the club received happened during my tenure,” Chukwu said. “But this is not about me alone. I worked with people and only provided the leadership required, and I was able to motivate people to get the desired result.”
Chukwu gave figures behind that recognition.
“In an assessment of over ninety clubs across ten major categories, Ikoyi Metro came first in seven and second in two,” he said. “We are also the club with the highest donation to Polio Plus, giving US$136,000, and I personally emerged the highest individual donor.”
Asked how the club achieved the feat, Chukwu pointed to consistency rather than shortcuts. “There was no magic formula, only intentionality,” he said. “At the start of the year, our public image director, Rotarian Toyin Ojo, told me she wanted the club to come first in public image. She worked towards it and achieved it.”
Past District Governor Ify Ejezie, a member of the club, called the outcome a source of pride.
“I am elated that our club came best overall in the last Rotary year, and glad the District Governor and his team were able to visit us,” Ejezie said.
“We did not let him down. We stayed true to our slogan, the Pride of Rotary, and I am confident we will repeat the feat, if not surpass it, this Rotary year.”
Club President Emeka Nwosu described the visit as a marker for the year ahead.
“Today is significant, as we have started the new Rotary year with an impactful visit from our District Governor, Layi Abidoye, in line with Rotary’s ethics and standards,” Nwosu said.
“He reviewed our workbook and commended the club for its culture and sustainability plans, while advising us on areas to improve. He also commended us for being the first club to pay our District dues.”
President elect Anita Ugochukwu credited the club’s cohesion for its results.
“Everyone at Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro is in sync, as we align with the vision we have set,” Ugochukwu said. “It is easy to fit in here, because it is about everybody’s ideas, not one person’s idea. The success we see today is a collective effort.”
In keeping with club tradition, Rotary Club of Ikoyi Metro awarded monetary scholarships of N250,000 each to three of its adopted public schools, Ireti Senior Secondary School, Girls’ Secondary Grammar School and Government College, bringing the total gesture to 750,000 naira.
The visit fits into a wider agenda Abidoye has outlined for his tenure.
The District Governor has announced plans for a specialist eye hospital in Imota, teacher training across Lagos and Ogun States, and a new media centre to publicise Rotary’s humanitarian work.
Ikoyi Metro’s early hosting of the District Governor places the club within the opening stretch of a Rotary year already shaping up around measurable, community facing goals.
For a club that closed its last Rotary year with a resounding sweep of district honours, the challenge now is repetition. Members who spoke after the visit were unanimous that sustaining last year’s standard, rather than chasing a new one, remains the priority.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
