Country Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge Africa in Nigeria, Khaled El Dokani, has apologised for the company’s role in admitting Nigeria’s coronavirus index case and  first recorded in sub-Saharan Africa.

El Dokani gave the apology during a chat with Channels Television after a visit to the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

According to him, “I have contact with each and every person who has been quarantined in one-and-one phone calls, they are all in very good health, the morale is high, they’ve got their phones with them, they are running the business from where they are. I look forward to overcome this issue, which is unfortunate for all of us, and we apologise for any inconvenience that has been caused to anybody”.

“And I would take this opportunity to thank the Governors of Ogun and Lagos for their participation, their fast reaction and the very, very great achievement they have made to contain the situation and take the necessary precautions”.

He said the company is very well equipped to meet such surprises. “The reaction of our team on the ground and the way they reacted, the way they coordinated with our states, especially in Ogun and Lagos, was extremely prompt; it was very well appreciated”.

He however noted that the company is active and running. “The plant is up and running, it has not been closed. We have our trucks shipping our cement, so this is part of the social media rumours or news which did not take place. We had visitors from the honourable Commissioner of Health, the World Health Organisation, they visited the plant and they commended each and every step we have taken so far.”

“To be honest, one of the things that has proven the resilience of Lafarge Africa PLC is the level of awareness and anticipation of our people that have been training for months and months since the coronavirus came out. And this is one of the things that shows the resilience of the company.

“We are a big company, a big organisation, we have a lot of resources. However, the health and safety of our employees come as a top priority. And if it is needed to sacrifice some of our results to make sure that our people are safe and healthy, this is what we are going to do.