FCT Gets N500m UBA Donation to Fight Pandemic

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has received a N500 million donation from the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in Abuja.

Receiving the cheque for the money from the Vice Chairman of UBA, Ambassador Joe Keshi, who led a delegation of the bank on a solidarity visit to FCTA, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, said the donation was the first hefty sum received by the FCT Administration since the onset of COVID-19.

Bello, who commended UBA for such a generous donation, said the money would serve as a major boost in the efforts by the administration to nip the spread of the virus in the bud in the FCT.

He assured that FCTA was working hand in glove with the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), to ensure that the organisation gets the necessary working tools.

He said plans were already in motion to grade the road leading to the NCDC testing office in Gaduwa for ease of access, adding that the donation will go a long way to ensuring that the job is done as soon as possible.

The minister who described the Chairman of UBA, Mr. Tony Elumelu as a great philanthropist, said he was not surprised that the Financial Institution was the first to make such a donation to the FCT to help fight the pandemic.

Earlier, Ambassador Keshi said the donation was a part of the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and a show of support to FCTA in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keshi expressed concern over the likelihood of a spread in densely populated areas of the country and called on well-meaning Nigerians to join hands to fight the disease.

He said N200 million of the sum was being set aside for NCDC, explaining that the donation was to strengthen the testing capacity of the centre.