By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Some authorised foreign exchange (forex) dealers under the aegis of Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) have donated N10 million to the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) Relief Fund, spearheaded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The group led by its president, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, stated that the money was doled out to support the on-going efforts of the federal government to curb the spread of coronavirus in the country.
“In this, the Association has donated N10 million to the CBN inspired CACOVID Relief Fund,” the ABCON boss said.
He also said the association donated some essential food items to 2000 families across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria as its contribution to mitigating the impact of the COVID –19 pandemic on households.
“Today in Lagos we are donating food items to over 200 families through the Destitute Home, Yaba, Lagos. The items include bags of rice, cartons of noodles and macaroni.
“Similar donations were made by the ABCON zonal executives in Abuja, Kano in Kano State, Awka in Anambra State, Benin, Edo State, and Maduguri in Borno State,” Mr Gwadabe said while presenting the items to the Destitute Home in Yaba, Lagos State.
He said while the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted severely on the economy and the livelihood of millions of people across the world, it is also an opportunity to demonstrate love and support to the poor and vulnerable members of the society.
He said that ABCON, in this regard and as a socially responsible organisation, decided to focus its support on the poorest of the poor in the society, stressing that this prompted the donation of essential food items to over 2000 families, representing the poorest of the poor families in the country.
He further said, “We have also taken measures to protect BDC operators and their customers from the coronavirus.
“For this purpose, ABCON has distributed over 20,000 face masks, hand sanitizers and infra-red thermometers to over 5,000 BDC members in all our cash disbursement centres across the country.”
“Also, in compliance with the social distancing guidelines, we have implemented automation of our queuing/crowd management system in all disbursement centres across the country to ensure minimum crowd gathering,” he added.
Mr Gwadabe assured the CBN and members of the public of ABCON’s commitment to smooth and orderly access to foreign exchange and its commitment to a stable exchange rate regime in the country.
While commending the federal and state governments for the decisive steps being taken to curb the spread of the coronavirus and mitigate its impact on the economy, he said “ABCON believes that Nigeria will emerge from the COVID-19 challenge stronger and more united.
