A businessman in Cross River has donated N25 million to the Cross River State Government to aid the state in its fight against the novel coronavirus.

Asuquo Ekpenyong, the founder and chairman of Davandy Group of Nigeria, announced the donation on Monday at the Government House, Calabar, where he met with the Cross River state governor, Ben Ayade.

Mr Ekpenyong said out of the N25 million, N10 million would be given to the Cross River State Taskforce Response Team on COVID-19, while N15 million would be used to procure food and medical supplies, including 5,000 hand sanitisers and 75,000 face masks for residents across the state.

It is mandatory in Cross River State for residents to wear face masks whenever they are in public space.

Mr Ekpenyong praised Mr Ayade for his “timely intervention” in stopping vehicles from entering Cross River in the outbreak of the coronavirus. He also praised the governor for giving out food to the vulnerable people in the state to cushion the effect of the stay-at-home order.

Governor Ayade thanked Mr Ekpenyong for his “steadfastness” and kind gesture to the state and appealed for support from other people and organisations in the state.

The Commissioner for Health in the state, Betta Edu, who is the head of the state taskforce on COVID-19, thanked Mr Ekpenyong for the donation and promised that the fund would be properly utilised to check the spread of the virus and for the reposition of the health care system in the state even after the pandemic.

Other officials present at the brief event were the Commissioner for Finance in the state, Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr, who is the secretary of the COVID-19 taskforce, and the Director General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Janet Ekpenyong.

Cross Rivers state has no confirmed case of the coronavirus.