COVID-19: South- South medical infrastructure takes off in Bayelsa

Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa

The construction of the  Oil and Gas industry  COVID-19 medical infrastructure for South- South region has commended in Bayelsa.

Governor Douye Diri,  his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo; Minister of State Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva; Group Managing Director NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari; Vice- Chairman/Managing Director, Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Lorenzo Fiorillo and Group General Manager National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Bala Wunti perform the ground breaking ceremony of the  building located at Igbogene, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State at the weekend.

Fiorillo while speaking on the medical infrastructure said concerted efforts  was needed to defeat COVID-19 saying the facility would be constructed in line with global standards.

“ENI considers people to be at the core of its culture and fundamental to its business aware that the creation of reciprocal values is possible through the sharing of objectives.

We are certain that the oil and gas industry  shares in these values. It is for this reason that we are here today at the difficult period to perform this ceremony which will ultimately engender a valuable medical asset to the South- South region of the country with women, children, the elderly, men and the vulnerable groups directly benefitting from the medical services that will be provided by the facility when completed. No doubt, defeating this scourge at this critical moment calls for the sort of concerted collective and sustainable effort through collaboration between government and the private sector as we are witnessing here today. This project will be executed in line with the highest standard obtainable within the health sector anywhere in the world,” Fiorillo said.

Sylva in his address disclosed that the construction of the medical infrastructure, being one of the three thematic areas the oil and gas industry is intervening in the fight against COVID-19, noted that the NNPC and its partners would continue to support the 36 states in the fight against COVID-19.