Coronavirus Pandemic
THE Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), on Thursday in Abuja donated an ambulance to assist the Federal Capital Territory Administration in the battle against the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
The Acting Director-General of SEC, Ms Mary Uduk, while presenting the ambulance to FCTA, expressed concern over the rising number of persons infected by the pandemic in the FCT and the country in general.
Uduk observed that since the country recorded its COVID-19 index case in February, the number of affected persons had continued to go up, leading to emergency situations and, in some cases, death.
Uduk said that in view of the devastation of the virus, the Nigerian capital market community, led by the Securities and Exchange Commission, in April this year, set up the Capital Market Support Committee on COVID-19.
She explained that the committee was mandated to, among other things, mobilise the necessary resources and coordinate all efforts required in the battle against the pandemic.
“While we acknowledge the various on-going efforts to combat the pandemic, both from the government and organised private sector, the capital market recognises the need to lend its support towards strengthening the available response mechanisms.
“We also feel concerned by the need to ameilorate the burden on those affected.
“The committee has been mobilising financial support and other resources from capital market participants and stakeholders for the purpose of providing medical and protective supplies as well as other palliatives,” Uduk said.
She revealed that the committee had studied relevant data on the pandemic and had identified critical areas of interventions.
The acting DG said that in the first phase of the execution of the capital market initiative, states with relatively high number of cases, including the FCT, had been made a priority.
The FCT Minister of State, Dr Ramatu Aliyu, who received the ambulance, described the donation as “an essential commodity”.
Aliyu said that the ambulance would serve the FCT administration “even beyond the COVID-19 pandemic”.
“Today, we have among us the great leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission with a special gift. We appreciate this gift so much because it is a big gift and makes a difference.
“We have received many gifts, but definitely we all know that ambulance will continue to last beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This remains an essential commodity in the fight against the pandemic. For quick responses we need the ambulance; for efficiency, we also need the ambulance. We will use it to move our patients from one place to the other with ease.”
NAN
– July 02, 2020 @ 18:35 GMT
