UBA swells Sierra Leone Ebola fund with additional $300,000

Thursday, January
29, 2015 was a good day for the people of Sierra Leone as UBA Sierra Leone’s
Managing Director; Mr. Ndubuisi Ejiofor, presented a cheque of an additional
$300,000 donation made by UBA Foundation to support the government of Sierra
Leone’s fight against Ebola.
President Ernest Bai Koroma receiving the $300,000 cheque from Ndubuisi Ejiofor, MD/CEO UBA Sierra Leone. 
 
Mr. Ejiofor, on
behalf of the UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the
UBA Group, personally presented the $300,000 cheque to the President of Sierra
Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma in a short ceremony at the President’s office.
 
He said the cheque
is in support of the determined resolve of the government of Sierra Leone to
fight the Ebola outbreak.
 
For those who may
remember, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, set up by Mr. Tony Elumelu, Chairman,
UBA Board of Directors, at the peak of the Ebola outbreak in 2014, had donated
$100,000 to complement the Sierra Leone’s government’s efforts to defeat the
virus.
 
The latest donation
is part of the $1 million given by UBA Foundation to the three worst-hit
countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone and the African Union Support Mission
to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA), initiated by the African Union
Chair Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
 
Explaining the
rational for the donation, Mr. Ejiofor recalled a statement by the Chairman of
the UBA Group, Tony Elumelu that; “Africa is our home and our destiny, and
Africans need to place themselves at the forefront in the campaign to overcome
this tragedy.”
 
He said UBA is
determined to ensure that the Ebola scourge is defeated in West Africa. Also,
present during the cheque presentation ceremony was the Nigerian High
Commissioner to Sierra Leone, Madam Gladys Modupe Quist Adebiyi.
 
In a short speech,
while receiving the cheque, President Koroma congratulated UBA Sierra Leone for
winning the “Bank of the Year” award conferred by the Bankers’ Magazine in
London, while also commending the bank for its support in the fight against
Ebola, saying “You know a true friend when you are faced with a challenging
moment like the Ebola outbreak”.
 
He underlined the
significant role of the banking industry in driving economic growth, and
extended his appreciation to the government and people of Nigeria for their
tremendous role in the fight against the abating virus.
 
President Koroma
recalled the huge part Nigeria played during the civil unrest in Sierra Leone,
while appreciating the personal efforts of the Nigerian High Commissioner,
Madam Gladys Modupe Quist Adebiyi for her nationwide social mobilization and
engagement of local communities in the fight against Ebola in the country.
 
The Nigerian High Commissioner
commended President Koroma for his tireless efforts and effective leadership in
defeating the now weakening virus.
 
She disclosed that
the Nigerian Government had sent 111 volunteers to help fight the disease,
adding that she had been personally engaging communities, quarantined homes and
sensitizing the people to comply with the precautionary measures set by the
Ministry of Health and Sanitation.
 

 

She also proposed
strengthening community relations between Sierra Leone and Nigeria in
post-Ebola and creating the enabling environment for more Nigerian investors to
participate in the development of the country.

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