The Nigerian Air Force has airlifted medical materials donated by
Chinese billionaire Jack Ma for tackling the coronavirus in Nigeria from
the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, to the Nnamdi
Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.
The medical consignment donated by the Jack Ma Foundation,
China, arrived in Nigeria on March 24th. The shipment, which came in
via an Ethiopian Airlines flight, carried 5.4 million face masks, 1.08
million detection tests, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000
sets of protective face shields.
According to a statement by the Air Force Director of Public
Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, the medical
materials, which consist of 107 boxes of medical supplies and equipment,
comprising surgical masks, medical disposable protective clothing, face
shields and detection kits.
They were airlifted in a single mission using the C-130 Hercules
aircraft and handed over to a delegation from the Federal Ministry of
Health led by the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Abdulazeez Mashi
Abdullahi, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Speaking after inspecting the delivered items, Alhaji Abdullahi
thanked the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, for
the deployment of aircraft to airlift the items to Abuja.
He also expressed appreciation to the NAF officers and men who
participated in the airlift mission for their professional conduct. He
said the donated items would go a long way in supporting the
government’s efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Country.
The Air Force leadership has also expressed the readiness of the
service to provide any form of support within its statutory
responsibility of providing aid to civil authority as the Nation
continues to work assiduously to deal with the threat posed by COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have asked why the medical materials are being
transferred to Abuja when the majority of the coronavirus cases recorded
in Nigeria are in Lagos state.
