The Chairman of Governors Mandate Network, Earl Osaro Onaiwu has commended Africa's leading billionaire and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Alhaji Aliko Dangote for spearheading an initiative to combat the rampaging coronavirus in conjunction with Mr. Herbert Wigwe, MD/CEO of Access Bank PLC and other corporate bodies who have indicated interest to join the coalition.

Speaking Wednesday evening, Onaiwu said it was indeed heartwarming to learn that a coalition of private sector organizations are ready to support the Federal Government's ongoing efforts to tackle the coronavirus (COVID-19) menace sweeping across the country.

He stated that the gesture of corporate organisations like Access Bank Group, Zenith Bank, GTBank, MTN, ITB and others, in addition to the N200 million earlier pledged by the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) will go a long way to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Mr. Onaiwu further noted that the initiative, tagged the Coalition Against Coronavirus (COCAVID), which will involve the erection of fully-equipped medical tents to house patients and serve as training, testing, isolation and treatment centers, with an additional facility will massively lighten the pressure on the already overstretched health infrastructure in the country.

He then urged other well meaning bodies to join the coalition as the pandemic is a fast spreading one which does not respect class or affluences and as such all hands are needed on deck to defeat it as swiftly as possible.

Meanwhile the Chairman of Governors Mandate has called on the operatives of the Federal Government to quickly distribute the freshly received COVID-19 relief equipment donated by the Chinese billionaire, Jack Ma across the country, especially to states where it is desperately needed noting that the materials must not be locked away in warehouses where it may eventually pilfered by greedy and heartless elements for pecuniary gains.