FG receives ₦10m worth of PPEs from German govt
In a bid to support the fight against the spread of COVID-19, the Federal government has received sets of personal protective equipment (PPE) donated by the German government under its African Union Border Programme (AUBP).
The German government handed the PPEs to the Nigerian Customs on Monday in Abuja in order to support Custom officers who have been working in the field during this COVID-19 Pandemic.
Presenting the PPEs, the first secretary of the German Embassy in Nigeria, Bernt-Michael Gelpke said that the PPEs are worth 10 million Naira.
Gelpke said, ” As you are aware, the government of the Federal Republic of Germany has a long-standing cooperation with the African Union and it’s regional Economic Communities (RECs) in several areas.
“Within the area of regional integration, peace and security, the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs is supporting African Regional Economic Communities and their member states to have effective and sustainable border management and to promote integration through peaceful, open and prosperous borders.”
The German government also noted that the African Union Border Programme was established in 2007 and Germany has been supporting it’s implementation in over twenty countries especially ECOWAS subregions which has been the most focused area of German cooperation, as ten of its member states benefit from GIZ direct support.
Gelpke further stated, ” The Customs officers in the ECOWAS region, despite the pandemic are in the forefront to ensure the region received adequate provision to face the region’s needs
“The clearance and control tasks at border posts carried out by these agents expose them to the risk of contracting the virus.
“It’s on this ground that the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed to direct some of the fund of the phase IV of AUBP to support the regional Economic Communities of Africa in their effort to curb down the effect of COVID-19 across their International bodies.
“This support is to show solidarity to our partners.
The PPE we are handing over is composed od 8,700 facemasks made with cotton fabric (6000 for Nigerian Customs and 2,700 for Nigerian Immigration), 16,600 disposable latex hand gloves and 130,000ML of Hand sanitizers. “
While receiving the donation from the German government, the Comptroller General of Nigerian Customs Service appreciated the German government for considering Nigeria in their programme.
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He called for more collaborations with the Nigerian government especially in the area of Border management.
Also speaking, the ECOWAS commissioner of trade, custom and free movement of persons, Mr Tei Konzi, stated that the commission is supporting the German government to fight against COVID-19 by protecting officers working at the borders.
