By Peter Uzoho
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe has been appointed as the new co-chair of the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA).
Also appointed was the CEO of Total E& P Limited, Mr. Nicolas Terraz.
In his acceptance speech, Wigwe expressed appreciation to the organisation for honouring him with the appointment and promised to give unwavering commitment to the cause of the organisation.
“I’m extremely honoured to be appointed as Co-Chair for this great coalition that is doing very important thing to try and ensure that we have a generation free of HIV/AIDS. My commitment to this endeavour from now is unwavering and I can let you know that I will continue to support NiBUCAA anyway I can just to make sure that at the end of the day we push HIV/AIDS out of Africa,” Wigwe said.
He added: “Access Bank has for several years partnered with NiBUCAA in respect to lifting up the overall line of awareness about HIV/AIDS. So we’re extremely proud to be seen at the forefront of African corporates as an institution that is championing the fight against HIV/AIDS.
“I think my responsibility going forward is to partner and work alongside Nicolas Terraz to ignite Nigerian corporates and lift up the level of awareness required to ensure that we basically drive HIV/AIDS not just out of Nigerian but out of the entire continent.
“I’m fully aware of the responsibilities that accompanying this appointment and I’ve accepted the role I’ve been given willingly. It’s important for us to know that the fight against HIV/AIDS is not an option, it is necessary for each and every one of us to come together to fight it”, he added.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of NiBUCAA, Mr. Gbenga Alabi, stated that the mandate of the coalition was to coordinate private sector response in Nigeria in terms of mobilising resources and also putting in place actionable programmes that can assist the workplaces and their business community.
