The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has flagged off the distribution of relief materials including fast intervention vessels, ventilators, ambulances, cash donations and personal protective equipment (PPEs) to Federal and State Governments towards the fight against the spread of Coronavirus in Nigeria.
In the first instance, the agency handed over two intervention vessels, about three ventilators, three ambulances, testing materials, and other PPE materials to the officials of Lagos State Government (LASG).
Speaking during the flag-off ceremony in Lagos on Monday, Bashir Jamoh, director-general of NIMASA, said the agency had also finalised arrangements to spray chemicals within Apapa in order to ensure that the environment is kept healthy and free from the deadly virus.
“We are here to flag off the distribution of some of the relief materials including ventilators, testing materials, PPEs, and ambulances. In distributing these materials, we looked at the six geopolitical zones, apart from South-west in Lagos we are going to give to South-east in Anambra, North-east in Maiduguri, North-west in Kaduna, North-Central in Kwari and FCT, Abuja,” he said.
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According to him, NIMASA decided to give the donation of vessels to all its landlords where it operates such that in the Western zone, two vessels would be given to Lagos, one vessel each given to Port Harcourt in the eastern zone, Warri in the Central Zone, Onne, and Calabar.
“We are a regulatory agency and we take the issue of the coastal communities very seriously. Most of the people in the coastal communities do come to the hinterland from time to time, and in the event of an outbreak, the authorities should be able to use the fast intervention vessel on the waterway to move the patient,” he explained.
While commending the Lagos State government (LASG)Nas well as the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for the efforts they have put into controlling the spread of the virus in Nigeria, he stated that the relief materials were given in addition to the N50 million cash donation, which would be shared N20 million to Lagos State and N30 million to Abuja.
Jamoh, who noted that it was very difficult to determine how much the agency invested in the acquisition of those relief materials, stated that one ventilator cost as much as N15 million.
On his part, Rabiu Olowo, Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, who received the donation on behalf of the LASG, thanked NIMASA for the kind gesture.
He promised that the State Government would make judicious use of the equipment as well as the cash donation towards the fight against the pandemic in the state.
NIMASA had pledged to give out medical equipment including 20 ventilators, 60 beds, 20-patient ICU monitors, 20 oxygen concentrators, 10 infusion pumps, 10 syringe pumps, 20 oxygen giving sets, 10 suction machine and 100 sets of PPEs to enhance the fight against the Coronavirus in Nigeria.
