The National leader of the ruling party of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bola Tinubu, has pledged to make a donation of N200million to fight the deadly virus of COVID-19.
Chief Bola Tinubu who is marking his 68th birthday and had earlier asked those wanting to celebrate his birthday with him to stay in their houses due to the deadly virus, took to his social media to announce his donation. He said:
“Today, but for COVID-19 we would, as we have done for the last twelve years, have celebrated this day with the Bola Tinubu Colloquium. This year we could not but by God’s grace we will do so again.
The circumstances this year prevent us from gathering together to celebrate my birthday but I would still like to mark the occasion,” he began his message.
Stating further, and confirming his contribution to the fight against the deadly virus, Bola Tinubu announced his generous donation to both Lagos State, which is his immediate constituent, and to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) with N100million naira each, to combat the deadly virus. He said:
“That is why I have chosen today to announce that I will be making a donation of N200m to fight this deadly virus. Pursuant to this pledge, N100m will be made available to the government of Lagos State and another N100m to the NCDC to support their efforts in fighting COVID-19.
Together, we will overcome this terrible disease,” he added.
The pledge by Bola Tinubu is coming almost immediately after he suggested for the immediate suspension of Value Added Tax (VAT), and the reduction of tax in the country, to ease the suffering of Nigerians caused by the deadly virus.
He made the call as part of measures the Federal Government can apply to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on citizens.
The call which also formed part of his birthday message, Tinubu said the government may have to take tougher measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus, such as imposing lockdowns in Nigeria, as done by most countries battling the scourge.
He believes the immediate suspension of VAT will help lower import costs and protect against shortages.
The former governor of Lagos State also advised the government to consider providing stipends for vulnerable Nigerians who would be most impacted by the health crisis.
He proposed food security, lower interest rates, quantitative easing, and debt suspension, as other measures to ease the effect of COVID-19 on the Nigerian economy.
He also asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to be prepared to enact extraordinary measures, should the financial sector exhibit any form of stress.
“The CBN should be prepared to give banks liberal access to its loan discount window to ensure adequate liquidity within the banking sector,” he said.
Tinubu also requested that the Cash Reserve Requirement for banks should be revised downward while the apex bank should be willing to expand its balance sheet and improve liquidity by purchasing government bonds and other instruments held by banks and other institutions.
He called for unity and peaceful co-existence among the people, saying this was the only way to win the fight against coronavirus which has killed thousands of people across the world.
He urged Nigerians, whether of APC or the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) affiliation or from the North or South to ignore their differences and join the efforts in curtailing the spread of the disease.
He said, “We have entered a sobering period. We face a challenge we cannot see but one that can find us all too easily. As individuals, this puts every one of us at a startling disadvantage. Each is rendered vulnerable by the reckless act of his neighbour.
“Each is made safer by the enlightened conduct of a stranger. The very nature of this assailant calls us toward greater unity and kindness. In the normal push of our daily affairs, we tend to focus on what divides us. We are either APC, PDP or another political affiliation.”
“One person is rich. Another is poor. There is the labourer then there is the boss. One person is of the North, another of the South, with both often acting as if the boundary between the two cannot be traversed.
“We are of different ethnic groups; these identities mean so much to us that we behave as if the affiliations are the very source of our humanity. In this, we tend to forget God.
“I, therefore, tender these humble comments in the hope they contribute to halting the spread and ill consequences of this dreadful sickness,” Tinubu added.