COVID-19: Why FG wants oxygen for states –SGF

From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja

The Federal Government has said the objective of investing in 38 oxygen production plants across the country is to ensure that Nigerians will not have to travel a distance of more than 100 kilometres before accessing oxygen in emergency situation.

Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, (PSC), Boss Mustapha, stated this, yesterday, in Abuja, when he received the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard.

Mustapha said facts on ground showed that lack of oxygen accounted for fatalities in India, even as he acknowledged that the fragile Nigeria’s oxygen distribution network was of concern to government.

“The President has approved and I believe that we will be seeking for approval for the award of oxygen plants that the Federal Government is going to establish in all the 36 six states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. This is all in order to ensure that our health infrastructure is strengthened peradventure the third wave comes in a very virulent and deadly manner like it has impacted India. We are preparing for that. Not only that, we are also using the opportunity of COVID-19 to reconfigure our health infrastructure and make it better and make it more enduring and sustainable for posterity,” he said.

Speaking on vaccines, the PSC chairman said that the first source of supply in Nigeria was delivered by COVAX facility from India about four months go before that country witnessed the recent upsurge.

“Indian needs to vaccinate about 70 percent of its  population which is a huge number, it’s not a small number. It’s a challenge, all over the world you can see that there are shortages of vaccines everywhere. So part of our discussion with the US ambassador was to see how the American government can help in terms of vaccine and other donation,” he said.

NCDC Director General, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, said the new U.S administration was really looking at health security as a priority moving forward with its engagement in that space.

“The fact that global health security is very important, holding the space in the next few year, is commendable.”