A South African real estate investment firm, Novare, said on Wednesday that tenants at its three shopping malls in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and one in Lagos would not pay rent for four months.

The firm also donated food items worth millions of Naira to the FCT to help residents cope with the hardship caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

It said in a statement that this was a phased palliative intervention as part of its support for Nigeria in its anti-COVID-19 fight.

Novare has three retail malls in the FCT and one in Lagos State.

Each Mall, it said, accommodates over 60 tenants – including Shoprite and Game – over 600 direct employees and over 2,000 indirect employees (including suppliers of the goods and products sold therein).