The founder of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdul Samad Rabiu, has announced a N3.3billion grant to the Lagos and Kano states and the presidential task force on COVID-19.
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The donation is in addition to BUA’s earlier contributions to the private sector-led CACOVID coalition and donations to other states.
Announcing this in a statement on Sunday, Alhaji Rabiu said Kano, which had seen a spike in the number of cases lately, including hundreds of unexplained deaths, would get N 2 billion, while Lagos, which had the highest number of confirmed cases in Nigeria would get N1 billion.
He also said that the sum of N 300 million would go to the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19.
Rabiu said the N3.3 billion grant which he was committing through the BUA Foundation would be managed by a working group made up of the presidential task force, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, and other stakeholders in equipping two existing permanent facilities in Kano and Lagos States.
The statement read:
I view with deep concern, the increased rate of spread of the coronavirus especially in Kano and Lagos despite concerted collective efforts to curb the spread and effect of the virus in Nigeria. I also wish to commend the leadership shown by the taskforce as well as the NCDC in this fight. However, we all know more needs to be done.
Based on what is going on especially in Kano at the moment, we have decided in the immediate, to commit a 3.3 billion naira grant to a working group made of the presidential taskforce, NCDC and other stakeholders in equipping two existing permanent facilities in Kano and Lagos States –whilst collaborating with the teaching hospitals in those states.
To this end, I am immediately committing and making available –through the BUA Foundation, two grants of the two billion naira for the Kano-based intervention and one billion naira for Lagos State being the two epicentres of this virus in Nigeria. A sum of N300million will also be made available immediately in cash to the presidential task force to assist with logistical and operational activities of the task force. This grants in addition to BUA’s earlier contributions to the private sector-led CACOVID coalition and donations to other states.
The working group will be expected to use resources at its disposal to ensure this facilities – to be determined by the working group –are fully equipped in the shortest possible time. I believe this will effectively help to expand the scope of interventions, ongoing research, as well as support, already stretched medical facilities dedicated to this fight.
