By Ikenna Omeje
 
Following the petroleum industry group intervention to improve on healthcare delivery in the country, as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), so far, have received medical consumables and logistics support.
In a statement signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr.Kennie Obateru, on Tuesday, N21billion ($58million) has been pledged in kind as medical intervention by the Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry to combat the virus and improve on healthcare delivery in the Country, 53 per cent of the sum pledged has been earmarked for the construction of medical infrastructure across the six geopolitical zones in the country.
According to the release, ground-breaking ceremonies for the construction of 200-bed Infectious Diseases Hospitals with in-situ laboratory had already been held in Bayelsa, Borno and Katsina States with that of the other locations to follow suit.
Obateru, quoting a recent report of the group’s delivery schedule, said medical consumables comprising respirators, protective suites and test kits as well as logistics and in-patient support systems among which are ambulances, ventilators and beddings and laboratory equipment have been delivered to 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
So far, States that have received medical consumables as well as logistics and in-patient support systems are: Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Delta, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kwara, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Plateau and Rivers State as well as the FCT. The end of June 2020 is scheduled for states yet to receive.
The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who leads the intervention group, has said said that 14 Medical Centres in total and two Intensive Care Unit’s (ICU) expansion and upgrade would be delivered across the federation as part of the intervention initiative.
The group’s Governance Committee comprising Managing Directors of oil companies and other Industry players, headed by the NNPC GMD, has also allocated 26 per cent of the intervention funding to the deployment of logistics and in-patient support systems and 21 per cent to the provision of medical consumables across the Country.
The Oil Industry Intervention group is made up of the NNPC, Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers (DPPMA), Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG).
The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry under the leadership of the NNPC has embarked on an Industry-wide collaborative intervention in recognition of the ravaging impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the critical sectors of the national economy.
The initiative is to support the ongoing Federal Government’s efforts in collaboration with the Presidential Task Force and the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to curb the pandemic.