NNPC to build hospitals when 4 refineries have been out of service for years-Shehu Sani

Senator Shehu Sani who was reported to be the first and only Nigerian Senator to declare his assets publicly in 2015 has frowned at the decision made by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to construct hospitals.

Stating this on Twitter on Friday, Sani commended the efforts but noted that they are four refineries in Nigeria which have been out of service for years, also needs urgent attention.

NNPC to build 6 Hospitals,that is commendable.But it should also be reminded that it’s 4 refineries have been out of service for years now.

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) May 22, 2020

According to a report on the website of the Nigerian Investment promotion Commision, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, revealed that the petroleum corporation is set to build robust medical facilities in 14 states. 

He made the disclosure in Abuja recently, during the hand over of the 20 ventilators donated by Ocea S.A through Mystrose Defence Systems Limited to the Federal Government.

Earlier at the event, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha, hailed the NNPC for its unwavering support and several medical interventions, geared towards providing a lasting solution to the novel coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, saying the gesture showed the corporation as the hallmark of a National Oil Company.

“This is a hallmark of a national institution which, at this very challenging time of COVID-19, is filling the gap in the provision of the kind of things that the nation requires; the facilities that we need to put in place,” Mustapha stated.

Mustapha assured the donor that the 20 ventilators would be put to good use for the benefit of Nigerians, maintaining that COVID-19 was a big challenge which required everyone’s support to the Federal Government to fight and defeat the pandemic. He stated that post COVID-19, the nation’s health institutions would receive the type of rebirth that the Federal Government desires, stressing that with the medical facilities on the ground, the nation would have the capacity to combat any epidemic or pandemic thereafter.

On his part, the Medical Director of the NNPC Medical Services Limited, Dr. Mohammed Zango, stated that the donations from the French company, Ocea S.A, was a right step in the right direction, adding that the corporation, as a responsible organization and a strategic partner in the maritime security space, is hereby transmitting the ventilators to the PTF in support of the Federal Government’s effort to combat COVID-19.

Zango explained that the company identified the NNPC as a reputable National Oil Company through which the ventilators could be safely delivered to the PTF on COVID-19.