Oil and energy giant, TotalEnergies (Nigeria) says it has identified better response to curtail disease spread especially Ebola and Covid-19. The company made the declaration in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, where it said preventive healthcare delivery system would cut down on infections and spread.
The Managing Director, Mike Sangster, said massive provision of public facilities for regular washing of hands and utilities for hygiene and sanitary exercises would do far more than curative efforts.
Sangster, who spoke at the commissioning of hygiene and sanitary projects at the Rivers State University (RSU), said that it was in response to the health challenges posed by infectious diseases that the company embarked on the projects, adding that basic hygiene such as hand-washing and good sanitary environment can go a long way.
He said: “This is why we decided to embark on this project which is in line with our way in protecting the populace from infectious diseases as commitment to the wellbeing and economic development of not only our host States, but the country at large.
“It is our plan, therefore to extend this important hygiene and sanitation project to the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.”
The projects flagged off at the RSU that would be replicated around Nigeria include block of 10 toilets (divided into two parts of five toilets each for females and males, including urinals for male with other ancillary items like hand wash basins and dryers). There was also a borehole with a 1.5 horsepower automatic solar-powered submersible pump; a 3.5 KVA hybrid solar-power system; an overhead water tank; and fencing of the facility.
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The MD said the completion and commissioning or the project was in furtherance of the corporate social responsibility initiatives of TotalEnergies’ Deepwater operations executed on behalf of the management and staff of TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI), their Joint Development Zone (JDZ) partners, Nigeria-Sao Tome & Principe Joint Development Authority (JDA), and Exxon Mobil (ESSO).
In his remarks, AlmajiriGeidam, chairman of the Joint Development Authority (JDA), said the authority manages an area of overlapping maritime boundary claim by the two state parties located offshore in the Gulf of Guinea.
“This area which is about 34,000sq.km has been carved out into a Joint Development Zone (JDZ) for the economic benefit of both countries,”Geidam said.
He quoted an American author, Patch Adams, who said a nation can never get a re-creation of community and heal their society without giving their citizens a sense of belonging.
He said the collaborative effort between the Nigeria-Sao Tome & Principe Joint Development Authority (JDA) and Total E & P (TEPNG) was in fulfillment of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reflective of their drive to positively impact on the citizens.
The chairman said the one in the RSU represented the allocation to the south-south zone and that remarkably it is the first to be handed over to the beneficiary institution.
He stated: “This is not only an important milestone to us; we are indeed proud to be identified with this laudable project. The project which kicked off with a ground-breaking event on 21 April, 2021 was envisaged to be completed within an estimated period of two months, however, delay occurred resulting from non-negligible and valuable inclusions in the contract such as perimeter fence, water tank stand and solar panels.”
The Vice Chancellor (administration) of the Rivers State University, Nnamdi Okoroma, who represented the institution’sVice Chancellor, Professor Nlerum Sunday Okogbule, expressed appreciation to TotalEnergies for the project and assured of co-operation with the private sector to attract more partnerships.
