Sanwo-Olu receives N1bn donation from UBA to fight coronavirus

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos state, has received a cheque of N1billion from the United Bank for Africa as part of the bank’s commitment to help curb the effects of the coronavirus in the state.

This was disclosed in a statement by Gboyega Akosile, chief press secretary to the governor,

Presenting the cheque to Sanwo-Olu at the statehouse, Marina on Sunday, Kenneth Uzoka, managing director of UBA, said the N1bn donation is also in fulfilment of the N5bn commitment made by Tony Elumelu, chairman of the UBA Group, early last week.

Uzoka said as a socially responsible institution, UBA cares for its communities and Lagos, which has the highest number of positive cases thus, needs special attention.

He said the bank gave Lagos the money because of the important role the state plays in the economy of not only Nigeria but Africa as a whole.

“Given the population of this state and that it is the business nerve centre, we at UBA are committed to lending our support to the state government. So today, we are giving you and the state one billion naira to support your endeavour in fighting the Coronavirus disease,” Uzoka said.

“I will not fail to mention that this wasn’t an easy decision for us because Lagos is just one of the many states in Nigeria. However, we looked at the importance of Lagos to Nigeria, but more importantly, we looked at the fact that Lagos has set up the right structure to administer whatever it is that we are giving to the state.

“So, we are rest assured, because we believe without an iota of doubt that the state will use these funds effectively and efficiently,”

Responding, Sanwo-Olu expressed appreciation to the financial institution for the support, saying that the money will go a long way to assist the state in “kicking out” the pandemic.

“We appreciate UBA. This is not the kind of money that we would want to take for granted. This is really an important intervention and this fund will go a long way to meet all of our needs both now and in the future, to ensure that Lagos continues to remain safe for business,” Sanwo-Olu said.

“And so, we are indeed happy that you decided to make this very bold move to support the health facility infrastructure in Lagos. You can be rest assured that once the structures have been developed, we will call you again to see what we have put these resources to.”