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.