Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank, and Nicolas Terraz, managing director/chief executive, Total E&P Nigeria Limited, have been inducted as the new co-chairs of the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS (NiBUCAA) in continuation of Nigerian private sector response to HIV/AIDS as it affects workforce and the society.
NiBUCAA was set up under the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo in 2003 to support businesses to implement HIV/AIDS workplace programmes, and to position members’ individually as well as collectively to contribute to national response to HIV pandemic.
Wigwe in his acceptance speech at the inauguration programme in Lagos said his commitment to the endeavour of NiBUCAA was unwavering and pledge to support the body in any way he could just to make sure that the scourge of HIV/AIDS was pushed out of sub-Saharan Africa.
Access bank had for years partnered NiBUCAA as the first step to lifting up the overall level of awareness of teaching people about HIV/AIDS, he said.
“I am extremely honoured to be appointed as co-chair to the association that is doing great in public place to try and ensure that we have a generation free of HIV/ AIDS.
“My responsibility going forward is to partner and work alongside Nicolas Terraz to ignite among Nigerian corporate and lift yet again the level of awareness required that will basically drive HIV AIDS not just out of Nigeria, but out of the continent,” he said.
Terraz on his part said the vision of NiBUCAA aligned with the vision of Total E&P Nigeria Limited corporate social responsibility, which was why he willingly accepted the appointment to serve as co-chair to the body.
He commended the vision of the body for starting NiBUCAA 14 years ago and putting in years of hard work and dedication.
Terraz observed that some significant gains had been made in the fight against HIV, saying that it equally remained a major threat not just to health, but also to human development particularly in Africa.
Earlier in his speech, Pascal Dozie, maiden co-chair of the NiBUCAA, observed that businesses had collective leadership role to play in the wide multi-sectoral response to the pandemic effect of HIV/ AIDS in the society.
Dozie charged the newly appointed co-chairs to see their appointment as an opportunity to further deepen collaboration among private sector organisations in the fight to safeguard the future of Nigeria work in particular and the society in general.
