****** The welfare of our people is of paramount concern to us
In a bid to support the government’s efforts at curbing the spread of the pandemic disease, a Liquidfied Petroleum Gas Company in Umuahia, called Second Coming Nigeria Limited, has donated 35,000 litres of cooking gas to Abia government as palliative to cushion the impact of COVID-19 lockdown.
The Managing Director of the company, Dr. Basil Ogbuanu, made the donation at the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umuahia.
He said the product, worth N5.5 million, was the company’s modest contribution toward alleviating the plight of the people occasioned by the lockdown.
Ogbuanu, who was represented by the company’s Accountant, Mr Oken Maduabuchi, said that the product should be distributed freely to residents “so that people will have gas to cook their food”.
He commended the state government for its demonstrable efforts and commitment in ensuring that Abia remained free of the coronavirus pandemic.
The managing director, also appealed to LPG operators to support government towards stamping out the pandemic in Nigeria.
Ogbuanu, however commended the federal and state governments for the frantic efforts they made to control the rapid spread of the disease.
He expressed happiness with the professionalism exhibited by the doctors and other health workers in the fight against the pandemic, adding that their giant strides had shown that Nigeria has professionals who could compete favourably with their colleagues in other parts of the world.
He urged Nigerians to adhere strictly to the directives issued by the government on the precautionary measures against the disease, stressing that complying to the directives is in the interest of everybody.
The company’s Media Consultant, Mr Bright Ozurumba, who accompanied Maduabuchi to the brief ceremony, said it was the company’s way of appreciating the good patronage the company had enjoyed in the state.
Ozurumba said, “The company sees this as a pay back time, hence its decision to identify with the government and people of the state during this trying period.”
“The wellbeing, health and safety of our people in Abia and Nigerians in general remained paramount to us a LPG marketers, noting that the sector was still open for more interventions from all partners.
He also commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its partners who have donated over 30 million dollars to support the federal government’s efforts at curbing the spread of Coronavirus also known as COVID-19.
Responding, Deputy Gov. Ude Oko-Chukwu, thanked Ogbuanu and the company’s management for deeming it necessary to support the government in its efforts to allevaite the impact of the lockdown on the citizenry.
Oko-Chukwu, who was flanked by members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on COVID-19, including the SSG, Mr Chris Ezem, thanked the company for joining the government in the fight to contain the spread of the pandemic in the state.
