Press Release
In its continued support to boost the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the BUA Group has donated five ambulances, 100,000 reusable cotton made facemasks to the Akwa Ibom State government, and three ambulances to the Abia State government.
Representatives of BUA, who presented the donations to the governors, Udom Emmanuel in Uyo and Okezie Ikpeazu in Umuahia, commended the governors for their efforts in tackling the pandemic and noted that the donations are in line with BUA’s promise to support Nigerians in fighting the pandemic.
The Director of Government Relations, BUA, Aliyu Hong, and the General Manager, BUA Ports and Terminals, Ibrahim Lile, who represented Abdul Samad Rabiu, the Executive Chairman/CEO of BUA in the states, respectively, commended the governors for their passion and creativity in the fight against COVID-19.
In Uyo, Mr Emmanuel described the donation as critical to the COVID-19 campaign in the state and thanked BUA and Mr Rabiu for the gesture, which, according to him, will strengthen the state’s rapid response to the pandemic.
Mr Emmanuel said the gesture was a clear demonstration of the readiness and interest of Mr Rabiu to join his administration in the development of the state. He restated his administration’s total commitment to fighting coronavirus in the state, even as schools resume for exit exams.
The governor promised to deploy the ambulances to the different local government areas of the state, in line with his administration’s policy of ensuring that every part of the state is well equipped for eventual medical emergencies.
According to him, “I have to personally be here to receive these because there are a lot of corporate organisations in Nigeria and Africa who have not shown this kind of love to us. “To us as a people, this is a clear demonstration of love and we don’t take things like this for granted. And I want to thank BUA for their kind words and appreciation of what we have done so far.
“This goes a long way to demonstrate his interest in joining us to develop Akwa Ibom state. He has been showing this, I know a lot of things he’s planning and I pray God grants him success.
“Your contribution is a clear demonstration of your corporate social responsibility to the entire people and above all it expresses the sentiment of love for the company and the citizens.
“We want to thank you and gladly receive this with all amount of happiness. I am sure I am expressing the feelings of the people of this state. We love him, we love the company and we appreciate this gesture.”
“We will move it to schools so that we can share to the SS3 and JSS3 students that have resumed.”
Also, in Umuahia, Mr Ikpeazu thanked BUA and Mr Rabiu for the show of empathy, love and care for the average Nigerian since the outbreak of the pandemic and described the donation as timely.
Mr Ikpeazu assured that the vehicles would be put to good use in reaching the hinterlands disclosing that the state has started community testing in all of its local government areas with a view to covering at least 30 per cent of the population.
“I want to publicly declare that BUA has shown empathy, they have shown how much love and care they have for the average Nigerians. My promise is that these ambulances will be put to good use to reach the hinterland and local government. The ambulances will help us drive our agenda and goal.
“We are testing rapidly; we are testing quickly to make sure that at least 30 per cent of our population are tested,” the governor added.
