25th April, 2020
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has donated an ambulance and other medical consumables to Kano State Government to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the state.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva who presented the items to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje at the Government House on Saturday, said that the gesture would go a long way in curbing the spread of coronavirus in the state.
Sylva said apart from the ambulance, the state would get rescue packs, ventilators, thousands of testing kits, 100 Personal Protective Equipment full kits, 100 PPE shoes, 2,000 disposal caps, including face masks, nose masks, bodysuits, hand gloves and overall full kit.
The minister added that the donation was part of the N21billion intervention on COVID-19 pandemic by the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
“NNPC and partners in the oil and gas industry embarked on an initiative covering three areas; provision of medical consumables, deployment of logistics and in-patient support system and delivery of medical infrastructure.
“In line with the oil and gas intervention initiative plan of establishing permanent and sustainable medical infrastructure in each geopolitical zone, we will be conducting a groundbreaking ceremony very soon for building emergency and infectious diseases hospitals in some parts of the country,” he said.
He said similar donations had been made in Abuja, Rivers and Bayelsa, adding that collaboration was needed to defeat the coronavirus.
The minister added that similar items would be delivered to affected states and that the industry would build emergency and infectious diseases hospitals in Uyo, Akwa Ibom and Yenagoa in Bayelsa.
Sylvia who was accompanied by the GMD of NNPC Mr Mele Kyari and Group General Manager of NAPIMS, Mr Bala Wuri, also commiserated with the government people of the state over the pandemic.
Ganduje commended the initiative of the oil and gas sector in the fight against coronavirus.
He said that the donation would go a long way in fighting the pandemic in the state and would also complement the state government’s efforts.
Ganduje also commended the Federal Government’s efforts in fighting the dreaded COVID -19 disease.
The governor disclosed that the state has three functional isolation centres adding that government had also commenced the distribution of palliatives to 50,000 households in the state.