The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has restated its support for the fight against the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and contributed over US$30 million in financial support along with other oil producers to the Federal Government through the Oil and Gas Industry Collaborative initiative spearheaded by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to fight the virus.

According to a release from the company signed by Eyono Fatayi-Williams general manager, External Relations & Sustainable Development, the company has urged resilience and adherence to social distancing rules and other precautionary measures advised by the health authorities, in order to control the spread of the disease in the country.

NLNG says that it takes the health and safety of its stakeholders very seriously; adding that the measures it proactively put in place to prevent the spread of the disease was in line with its obligation to staff and social responsibility to stakeholders, host communities and Nigeria as a whole.

NLNG stated further that it is working with relevant stakeholders to contain the spread of the virus in Rivers Stateand in its operational base, Bonny Island (currently with no confirmed case of infection), committing to some N1 billion in various interventions in the state.

The Company revealed that it has committed to the refurbishment of a building and set-up of a 10 bed Isolation/Holding Centre at the Bonny Zonal Hospital. In addition, NLNG has donated equipment and Personal Protective Equipment which include five suction machines, three single air conditioners for consulting rooms, five split air conditioners for wards and 10 patient monitors.

Other items donated for use on Bonny Island include one oxygen bank consisting of 5 bull nose cylinders, 10 drip stands, 10,000 one-fit N95 health care particulate respirator and surgical masks, 250,000 surgical masks, 50,000 nitrile gloves, 12,500 hooded coveralls with boots, 70 respirators, and wall mounted hand sanitizers. The Company added that it is also partnering with a committee set up by the Bonny Local Government Council to develop and implement a strategic plan to protect all those who live on, or visit the Island.

At the State level, NLNG is donating equipment and materials to upgrade specific facilities at the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH). The Company also donated items to the Government which includes two transport vehicles for contact tracing, five ventilators, 30 patient monitors as well as over 100,000 surgical masks.

Other items donated by the Company include 30,000 nitrile gloves, 5,000 hooded coveralls, 8,000 respirators, 200 goggles and 200 face masks. The Company also continues to support the Government through its membership of an advisory team constituted by the State Ministry of Health to guard against the spread of the disease.

To help palliate hardship resulting from the stay-at-home order in the State, NLNG donated food items to its host communities.

Isaac Anyaogu is an Assistant editor and head of the energy and environment desk. He is an award-winning journalist who has written hundreds of reports on Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, energy and environmental policies, regulation and climate change impacts in Africa. He was part of a journalist team that investigated lead acid pollution by an Indian recycler in Nigeria and won the international prize - Fetisov Journalism award in 2020. Mr Anyaogu joined BusinessDay in January 2016 as a multimedia content producer on the energy desk and rose to head the desk in October 2020 after several ground breaking stories and multiple award wining stories. His reporting covers start-ups, companies and markets, financing and regulatory policies in the power sector, oil and gas, renewable energy and environmental sectors He has covered the Niger Delta crises, and corruption in NIgeria’s petroleum product imports. He left the Audit and Consulting firm, OR&C Consultants in 2015 after three years to write for BusinessDay and his background working with financial statements, audit reports and tax consulting assignments significantly benefited his reporting. Mr Anyaogu studied mass communications and Media Studies and has attended several training programmes in Ghana, South Africa and the United States

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