Over the weekend, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State announced that the fully-equipped Covid-19 isolation centre at Onikan had been commissioned. The 110-bed facility was put together by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
Sharing pictures of the facility on his Twitter page, Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed excitement over GTBank’s swift response to the state’s call for help. Lagos has, so far, been the epicentre of the covid-19 virus which has already killed one person in the country and thousands more elsewhere.
The facility will, therefore, go a long way in ensuring that those who contract the disease are given the best care possible, whilst being isolated from the rest of the society in order to prevent further infections.
Our 110-bed fully equipped Onikan #COVID19 Isolation Centre in partnership with @GTBank is ready!
We are excited about our private sector partners that are answering the call to assist us with visible impact. Our government will leave no stone unturned to protect our residents. pic.twitter.com/MMBk5ikWYh
— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) March 28, 2020
Our 110-bed fully equipped Onikan #COVID19 Isolation Centre in partnership with @GTBank is ready!
We are excited about our private sector partners that are answering the call to assist us with visible impact. Our government will leave no stone unturned to protect our residents. pic.twitter.com/MMBk5ikWYh
— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) March 28, 2020
While commenting on the project, which was surprisingly executed within one week, the Chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank, Segun Agbaje thanked those who made it possible. According to him, the Africa Finance Corporation had agreed to take up 50% of the cost of the project. He said:
“I will like to first start by thanking the almighty God for allowing us to put this thing together in the short period of time which we have done. I will then like to thank Mr. Governor and the people and the government of Lagos State, for giving us this facility and giving us the opportunity to at least put this together because, without the corporation of the state, this would never have happened.
I will like to thank my board, who allow us when we dream to execute. I will like to thank Africa Finance Corporation who have graciously agreed to fund 50% of whatever we spent here. I will like to thank Mandalas who provided the air-conditioning.”
(READ MORE: COVID-19: UBA Presents N1billion to Lagos State.)
He also thanked Evercare Hospital for facilitating the purchase of the ventilators that will be used in the facility. As you may well know, ventilators are vital in the treatment of respiratory disease (I.e., the Coronavirus). Unfortunately, not only are they quite expensive, they have also become quite scarce across the world due to the sudden demand which was necessitated by the pandemic.
Besides GTBank, other companies have also begun to fulfil their pledges. Yesterday, UBA Group announced via LinkedIn that UBA Foundation had fulfilled the first tranche of its support in the fight against the virus.
On Saturday, a cheque for the sum of N500 million was presented to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Hon. Muhammed Bello. Out of the total sum, N200 million is expected to go to the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control which has been at the forefront of the fight against the Coronavirus in Nigeria.
