Nigeria’s state-run oil firm the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said 53 percent fund realised from its oil and gas sector led coronavirus pandemic relief fund would be devoted to the construction of medical infrastructure across the six geopolitical zones in the country.
The Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mele Kyari, revealed that N21 billion has been pledged in kind by the Nigerian oil and gas industry players since it launched the intervention fund in the wake of the outbreak of Covid-19 in the country.
In a statement, the NNPC said 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.
A report from the oil giant showed that other medical consumables and logistic support have been delivered to 20 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while end of June 2020 is set for states yet to receive.
Kyari, who leads the intervention group, said 14 medical centres in total and two Intensive Care Unit (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 percent of the intervention funding to the deployment of logistics and in-patient support systems and 21 percent of the sum to the provision of medical consumables across the Country.
All the initiatives by
the respective stakeholders form part of their usual Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) programme/commitments.
The NNPC report said medical consumables comprising
respirators, protective suits 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 21 states and the Federal Capital
Territory.
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 intervention, the NNPC said was provided in kind by
donors using internal transparent procurement processes driven with a clear
governance structure of the various coalescing companies involved in the
initiative.
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 and in collaboration with the Presidential Task Force and the National
Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to curb the pandemic.
