In line with its commitment to the Nigeria oil and gas industry intervention initiative on the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, being championed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG) in partnership with NNPC has made an initial donation of 5,000 protective suits and goggles/eyewear; 2,500 -FFP2/N95 face masks, 500,000 protective surgical face masks and four brand new and fully-kitted Toyota Hiace ambulances to support the national effort at mitigating the impact and curbing the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
The donation, which was made at an event held in Lagos, is the first in a series of donations that will culminate in the provision of additional medical equipment, grassroots sensitisation and medical infrastructure as part of IPPG’s support of the Federal Government’s effort on the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A healthy and prosperous Nigeria is an imperative for national growth and development making it important to support this laudable NNPC-led intervention which ensures the industry proactively and sustainably supports all those affected by this pandemic from patients to our first responders, frontline medics and caregivers, and every other impacted person,” Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, chairman IPPG said.
“As a nation, we can only effectively address this pandemic through a widespread and concerted effort by all stakeholders. IPPG is committed to working collaboratively to tackle this pandemic and believes in the resilience of the nation which will overcome this challenge,” he said.
The next set of donations will include other medical consumables, logistics and in-patient support systems such as facemasks, COVID-19 test kits, ventilators, hospital beds, additional ambulances and others medical equipment. There are also plans for the construction of a medical facility and a fully equipped molecular diagnostics laboratory.
In addition to these, IPPG is embarking on a large scale grassroots sensitisation campaign to further strengthen calls for social distancing, hand washing and other practices that promote good hygiene and limit the spread of COVID-19 – for maximum impact, this is being undertaken in partnership with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).
Also working in partnership with the NCDC, there are plans to deploy a web-based application for enhanced tracking of the spread of infectious diseases and providing critical data for optimised resource deployment nationwide.
Established in 2015, IPPG is an association of indigenous Exploration and Production (E&P) companies with a current membership of twenty-six (26) companies. The Group was set up to promote and advance the development of the Nigerian petroleum industry. It constructively engages government and other stakeholders with the primary goal of maximising the contribution of the domestic oil and gas industry to the overall socio-economic development of Nigeria.
The current members of IPPG are – Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production, AMNI International Petroleum Development Company, Dansaki Petroleum, Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria, Eroton Exploration and Production Company, Energia, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company, First Hydrocarbon Nigeria Company, Frontier Oil, Green Energy International, Lekoil Nigeria, Midwestern Oil and Gas Nigeria, ND Western, Newcross Exploration and Production, Network Exploration & Production Limited, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources, Oando Oil, Oriental Energy Resources, Pillar Oil, Platform Petroleum, Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Shoreline Natural Resources, Suntrust Oil Company Nigeria, Vertex Energy, Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited and Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum.
In attendance at the event were the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Ministers of State for Petroleum Resources and Health, Timipre Sylva and Olorunimbe Mamora, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, Group General Manager National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Bala Wunti, Lagos State commissioner for health, Akin Abayomi, Head of Service Lagos State, Hakeem Muri-Okunola, among other dignitaries.
