President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the efforts of Nigerian billionaires that have supported the government in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the statehouse press release sent via the official Twitter handle of the presidency @NGRPresident, Buhari appreciated Tony Elumelu, Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Femi Otedola, Herbert Wigwe, Segun Agbaje and Jim Ovia for contributing N1 billion each, to aid the efforts to curb and combat the spread of the Coronavirus.
The President commends members of the Nigerian Private Sector Coalition Against #Covid19, made up of people like @AlikoDangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA Group, @realFemiOtedola, @TonyOElumelu, @HerbertOWigwe, Segun Agbaje & Jim Ovia of UBA, Access, GT, & Zenith Banks, respectively
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 27, 2020
Under the auspices of the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19, they had contributed N1 billion each.
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The President also commended former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who pledged N50 million, and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) group which donated N5 billion to Nigeria and Africa.
First Bank of Nigeria also received a commendation for partnering with the Nigerian government, the United Nations (UN) and innovative technology firms to provide e-learning solutions to keep students engaged while the lockdown continues.
.@UBAGroup has equally donated the sum of N5 billion to Nigeria and Africa, former Vice President @atiku has pledged N50 million, while @FirstBankngr is partnering with government, the @UN, and innovative technological firms to provide e-learning solutions…
— Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) March 27, 2020
The tweet read: “President extols every other helping hand that has been lent by individuals, groups, and organizations, which may not necessarily be in the public domain, noting that God who sees all things will abundantly recompense.
“@MBuhari recommends these laudable strides to other high net-worth Nigerians and organizations, stressing that hand in hand, the country will overcome the challenges brought by the pandemic, and chart a new course in nationalism and brotherhood.”
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Why this matters: There have been recent speculations that Nigeria could lose the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic due to insufficient resources, resulting in inadequate testing, and isolation facilities for treating infected patients.
Nairametrics had reported the arrival of medical supplies promised by Jack Ma, co-founder of the Alibaba group, to give Nigeria an edge in the fight against COVID-19.
Nigerian billionaires and corporate organizations in the private sector came together to also support the government by pooling together resources and making donations to provide adequate funding for the relevant health bodies and help Nigerians cope better with the lockdown.