Worried by the increasing spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic across the country, the Presidential Flood Relief and Rehabilitation Committee, set up in 2012 by the Federal Government has announced a donation of N1.5bn to efforts at curtailing the virus.
A statement on Thursday said Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, who leads the committee, announced the donation after an emergency meeting at the midweek, noting the urgent need for all well-meaning Nigerians to assist the Federal Government combat the deadly virus, which has so far claimed 11 lives in Nigeria.
The reality of the pandemic, he stressed, “has set in now in Nigeria and all hands must be on deck to save our country from its attendant crisis. So far, so good, we need to sustain the momentum and ensure that we curtail the spread”
The mandate of the committee includes providing support for flood victims, and by extension, similar related disaster relief situations in the country, recalling that the committee assisted victims of communal clashes and insurgency on several occasions in the past.
In a goodwill message on the occasion of his 63rd birthday last week, Dangote called for collaboration in the fight to combat the virus, expressed the belief that “every gesture of support from other stakeholders outside government and the business community in Nigeria and Africa, would go a long way to help tackle this global dimension issue, with its impact felt all over the world.”
He lauded the efforts of the organized private sector, which through the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) initiative had raised over N21bn to support government efforts at tackling the pandemic in Nigeria.
Dangote also appreciated the efforts of the government at all levels and those on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19, which currently was ravaging the economic, health and social sectors of the country.
The emergency meeting was also attended by Tony Elumelu, chairman of the United Bank for Africa; Tunde Lemo, former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Karami Rabiu, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, among others.
The meeting’s resolution was supported by other members who were absent, such as the co-chairman, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija, Prof. Sani A. Lugga, Hajiya Fatimma Wali-Abdurraham, Hajara Alkali, among others.
The committee was established in 2012 to raise funds for the provision of reliefs for flood victims and organized a fund-raising dinner held at the Presidential Villa on November 8, 2012, where eminent citizens pledged about N12bn for the task.