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President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed popular businessman and Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote as the head of the 16-member Council of the Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC).
The development was confirmed in a statement shared on Tuesday by the Special Assistant to the President on Digital Communications, Bashir Ahmad.
Naija News reports President Buhari inaugurated the council on Tuesday at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja and charged them to work on saving the country from the scourge of malaria.
Explaining why Dangote was chosen to head the council, Buhari was quoted to have said the track record of the billionaire and his passion for such projects informed the decision.
The statement reads: “President Muhammadu Buhari has inaugurated the Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC), and appointed Aliko Dangote of Dangote Group to head the 16-member Council, in recognition of his track record and passion in supporting various health initiatives across the African continent.
“During the inauguration of the NEMC, the President projected that the successful implementation of the Council’s agenda and savings from the estimated economic burden of the disease would save Nigeria about N687 billion in 2022 and N2 trillion by 2030.
“President Buhari told the 16-member Council that beyond improving the quality of life, health and well-being of Nigerians, the concerted strategy to tackle malaria had both public health as well as socio-economic benefits for Nigeria.
“The President used the occasion to thank the Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), Pres. Kenyatta of Kenya, the Executive Secretary of ALMA, RBM Partnership in Nigeria for their continuous support to the Ministry of Health and the malaria programme, in particular.”
