The management of Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd and the Capital Market Committee on COVID-19 have donated medical equipment, face masks and infrared thermometers to Oyo State Government.
They made the donations on Wednesday, at the state secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, in support of the state government’s drive to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
Among the equipment donated by Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd were Coronavirus PCR test machine and extraction kits, RIDA genesars, nasopharyngeal swab plus viral transport medium kits, vortex mixer and Personal Protective Equipment.
The Capital Market Committee on COVID-19 donated 100 face masks and 150 infrared thermometers to the Ministry of Education to further strengthen efforts to curb pandemic.
Dr Bashir Bello, the State Commissioner for Health, who received the donation from Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd on behalf of the state government, appreciated the gesture.
“We appreciate the full concern of Shell Nigeria Gas for these immeasurable materials.
“When we tried to estimate this, we observed it is worth over N25 million or thereabouts, particularly the PCR and all testing kit materials.
“We have found out that having very good kits are necessary. Of course, we now know that the state is moving on to the community testing stage, so, this is a weapon.
“Coming to the issue of the health care workers, we have the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and all the necessary paraphernalia and other different reagents.
“This, actually, has been well mapped out and well solved to promote further testing, tracing and isolation, which is the main thing for the surveillance team in this COVID-19 pandemic,” Bello said.
In his remarks, Mr Seun Ashamu, Commissioner for Energy, said that the equipment would be well utilised by the Ministry of Health and other frontline workers in the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Mr Olasunkanmi Olaleye, who received the donation from the Capital Market Committee on COVID -19, promised to deploy the 100 face masks and 150 infrared thermometers to schools so as to prevent further spread of the virus.
“It is a good thing that the capital market is doing this for the states across Nigeria; we are going to deploy these materials to our schools, so that we can collectively defeat the virus here in Oyo State,” the Commissioner said.
Mr Joe Ezukwuso, who represented the Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Gas Ltd, said the company was committed to the health and well-being of its partners and their communities.
Ezukwuso said the donation was done to ensure that frontline workers combat the pandemic and supporting staff do their work professionally in a safe manner.
He commended the state government for its actions and guidelines in preventing the spread of the virus.
The official promised that the company would continue to work with the state Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control(NCDC) and other relevant government authorities on adherence to COVID-19 protocols.
“Today, we are presenting Oyo State Government with COVID-19 compatible critical equipment to enhance the state’s medical capacities and capabilities to further combat the pandemic,” he said.
Mrs Oluwatoyin Sanni, Group Executive Officer, Emerging Africa Capital Ltd, who represented Capital Market Committee on COVID-19, also commended the state government for taking proactive steps to tackle the pandemic.
“This actually forms one of our various interventions, which are touching every state in Nigeria. It is our hope that this will form part of the equipment that Oyo State will continue to put to use.
“The nation is already very successful in its battle against COVID-19, and with the collaboration between public and private sectors, we are confident that sooner than later, Nigeria will defeat the COVID-19 pandemic,” she said.
