The Federal Capital Territory, FCT and the Nasarawa chapter of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, NSCE, has joined the fight against COVID-19 to honour the memory of Engineer Suleiman Achimugu, the first victim of Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.
Achimugu, the former Managing Director of the Pipeline and Product Marketing Company, PPMC, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, died shortly after he visited the United Kingdom and was diagnosed of coronavirus.
Speaking at the new Internally Displaced Person, IDP, camp in Kuchingoro in Abuja, Dr. Boniface Wada, who is the Chairman of the COVID-19 Committee FCT/Nasarawa chapter, said the donation of items was aimed at alleviating the suffering of Nigerians during the period of the lockdown.
Dr. Wada appealed to displaced persons to ensure coronavirus is not spread among them.
“Coronavirus is real. Our colleague who was a former MD of the PPMC died as a result of this disease. We should try as much as possible to avoid its spread and save lives.
“The foodstuffs and other items we are donating to this IDP camp is to identify with the needy and assist the government in combating the spread of the pandemic.”
Receiving the donated items, the Chairman of the IDP camp, Mr Philemon Emmanuel, thanked the organisation for remembering the needy in their midst and expressed gratitude for the donation.
He called on other organisations in the country to reach out to the needy during this period of lockdown, saying that many families are not finding it easy to cope with the present situation.
He explained that it was the second time an organisation was coming to donate foodstuffs and other essentials, adding, “Before your coming, the challenge of feeding has been enormous. But with your visit here today, I am happy that our members will sleep on a full stomach today.”
The Woman Leader of the IDP camp, Madam Ladi Mathias, thanked the chemical engineers for coming to the aid of the internally displaced persons and expressed joy at the generous gesture.
