The groundbreaking of the proposed Oil and Gas COVID-19 Medical Infrastructure for the South-South region was held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Saturday.
The facility would provide general medical services, disease control centre, in-situ diagnostics laboratory and 150-200 capacity bed spaces scalable on both flanks and behind, among other services.
The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) joint venture is the major sponsor of the infrastructure, which would cost N21billion in the first instance.
Bayelsa State governor, Douye Diri, led the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; NNPC Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari; Group General Manager, NAPIMS, Bala Wunti; Vice Chairman of Eni and Managing Director of NAOC, Lorenzo Fiorillo, and other dignitaries to perform the ceremong in Yenagoa on Saturday.
Mustapha, Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, said the initiative would help Nigeria immensely in the fight against the virus and other infectious diseases.
Mustapha, represented by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajuba, said, “The project promises to be the beginning of our nation’s sojourn towards the fight against not just the COVID-19 pandemic, but all other infectious diseases.”
He said: “I strongly believe that this laudable initiative of the oil and gas sector in the fight against COVID-19 spearheaded by the NNPC, which is a classic example of corporate social responsibility we advocate, will go a long way in championing, sustaining and strengthening our resolve to halt the spread of COVID-19 and all other diseases in Nigeria.”
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Sylva, in his remarks, noted that the industry-wide intervention was done “to support our national healthcare delivery facilities and strengthen our collective resolve in combating this pandemic and its dreadful impact.”
He commended NAOC’s parent company, Eni, the NNPC, the Bayelsa State government and all partners for the initiative, stressing that it was in alignment with the Federal Government’s effort to curb COVID-19 through the PTF.
The GMD of NNPC, Mele Kyari, said Coronavirus could have more catastrophic consequences on communities and the country at large if concrete steps were not taken to nip the infection in the bud.
According to him, the process for COVID-19 medical infrastructure was galvanised by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services.
The GGM of NAPIMS, Bala Wunti, explained that the N21bn would be provided in kind, based on three thematic areas of support covering medical consumables, personal protective equipment, ambulances, oxygen, generators, ventilators, among others.
He further said that the third aspect of the support “is geared towards providing a lasting (medical) infrastructure that will outlive this pandemic and could be used for any subsequent occurrence.”
Diri, in his remarks, expressed gratitude to the minister, NAOC and industry collaborators for choosing Bayelsa State to host the project in the South-South zone.
