TheCable

FirstBank of Nigeria has lauded the efforts of health workers at the forefront of Nigeria’s battle against COVID-19.

Since Nigeria recorded its index case in late February, many states have gone into lockdown mode to curb the spread of the virus.

While most commercial activities have ground to a halt, persons providing essential services — particularly healthcare — have been playing a crucial role in keeping the pandemic at bay.

Commenting on the efforts of doctors, nurses and other health workers, FirstBank of Nigeria described them as “unsung heroes”.

Adesola Adeduntan, chief executive officer of FirstBank, commended their sacrifice while acknowledging that they are working selflessly despite “grave personal risk”.

“All of us at FirstBank acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of our unsung heroes. The frontline Nigerians who toil day and night to care for us and keep us all safe as we collectively fight this battle we face,” he said.

“We especially thank and applaud our health workers, doctors, nurses, all hospital staff and indeed everyone else providing essential services; who at great and grave personal risk give the best of themselves again and again to deliver essential care in the face of this global challenge presented to humanity.

“Selflessness and resilience in the face of adversity stand us out and are the hallmark of heroes. We applaud you and we at FirstBank stand with our hats doffed as we send you our prayers and words of encouragement.

“Our promise to you is that we will also continue to do our bit by working to keep banking services available across all our channels even though our branches are closed we will continue to serve Nigerians via our digital channels, ATMs and our large network of agents across all nooks and crannies.”

Adeduntan’s comments come in the wake of the bank’s donation of N1 billion to support the federal government’s efforts in tackling the pandemic.

On Saturday, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced that there were five new cases of COVID-19 in the country, taking the total number to 214.

So far, four people have died while 25 others have been discharged.