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Our Reporter

 

With the continued drive by the Federal Government to fully deregulate the downstream sector of the Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria, the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), has reiterated its commitment to ensuring seamless storage and distribution of products across the nation.

DAPPMAN said the significance of deregulation goes beyond price determination, noting that the handling of petroleum products have far reaching effects on the health of the general public and environmental sustainability.

DAPPMAN Chairman, Mrs. Winifred Akpani, said: “The critical role of DAPPMAN member companies in storage, distribution and supply infrastructure investment has been instrumental to the growth of the sector. As deregulation opens up the market, all stakeholders can rest be assured that DAPPMAN’s role in promoting global standards gives the buying public value for money with a huge premium on transparency and professionalism.”

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Mrs. Akpani said the entry of private warehousing and logistics operators under the aegis of DAPPMAN has over the past two decades made the downstream sector more robust, competitive and efficient.

“DAPPMAN notes that a major part of the success of the oil and gas industry rests with investors in the warehousing and logistics aspect of the value chain as they enable producers, refineries, marketers and distributors to warehouse and transport their products in the short and long-term. This continues to enhance local capacity in the management of strategic and essential storage operations as well as distribution through investments in new and additional pipeline networks. This will certainly position the sector for increased growth upon full deregulation and translate to more value for consumers,” she added.

According to data, over the last three decades, through investments in major warehousing and logistics terminals totalling almost 1.029 million metric tonnes of products across the nation, DAPPMAN has been instrumental to efficient management of growing increase in the supply and demand of petroleum products, resulting in a higher level of reliability, security and transparency across the country.

DAPPMAN’s huge infrastructure development has helped improve the supply chain management of the downstream sector, which has led to increased efficiencies in the distribution and retailing of petroleum products.

Akpani said deregulation will also open up opportunities for other ancillary industries, while deepening economic activities and driving stable demand and supply mechanisms such as product blending facilities, necessary for the continued growth of the industry.

“DAPPMAN sees a future of opportunities for all stakeholders through full deregulation of the downstream sector of the industry and believes that Nigeria is moving in the right direction towards becoming a major hub for warehousing and logistics management across the continent that would compete with major terminals across Europe, America, Asia and the Middle East,” she said.

 

 

Moses Emorinken, Abuja

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has debunked claims that it receives money from passengers intending to embark on travels through the official travel platform – Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP).

It explained that although it advises passengers should not make payments outside of the official platform, all payment received on the travel platform are sent directly to the laboratories passengers has chosen to be tested.

The agency further stated to ensure that the public health response is not affected by personal requests and needs, only accredited private laboratories can carry out all travel-related testing

The NCDC made this known in a statement.

It said: “Our attention has been drawn to a report published by the Daily Independent newspaper on the 14th of September 2020, with the title: ‘Fraud Rocks NCDC COVID-19 Tests for Air Travelers’.

“This report is simply incorrect and based on information that is inconsistent with the truth. In addition, no attempt was made to contact the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on this matter before the newspaper went to press.

“This article is an unfortunate misrepresentation of efforts by Government Ministries and Agencies, to enable safe travel in the context of a pandemic affecting every country in the world.

“The Nigeria International Travel Portal (NITP) was launched by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 (PTF-COVID-19) with support from the Coalition Against COVID (CA-COVID).

“The aim of this platform is to ensure safe travel in the context of COVID-19 and to reduce the risk of a spike in COVID-19 cases as international flights resume.

“The NITP is currently hosted on the web portal of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and co-managed with Port Health Services of the Federal Ministry of Health and other government Institutions within PTF-COVID-19.

“The decision to make repeat tests mandatory in Nigeria was based on a review of data by NCDC and PTF-COVID-19. The goal was to find the right balance between protecting Nigeria from more infections while supporting the restart of international travel.

“From May till August 2020, evacuation and emergency flights were allowed into the country following an initial restriction on international flights.

“Of the number of people who returned to Nigeria, 5 percent tested positive within 14 days of arrival in Nigeria. In addition, several people flouted self-isolation guidance on return. Based on this data and the current capacity in Nigeria, it was decided that all travelers to Nigeria must be tested after seven days of return to the country. This was to enable early detection and to reduce the risk of further transmission of the disease.

READ ALSO: NCDC increases test labs to 69 in 35 states

“The NCDC has activated several public health laboratories for COVID-19 in Nigeria as of the 14th of September 2020. These laboratories are for public health purposes and therefore, provide testing free of charge to the public.”

The statement added: “To ensure that the public health response is not affected by personal requests and needs, all travel-related testing can only be carried out in private laboratories. This is similar to current practice in countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, United Arab Emirates, and others.

“The private laboratories that provide testing for COVID-19 are commercial entitles, independent of the Government of Nigeria. The PTF-COVID-19 has ensured that the prices indicated by these laboratories are as subsidised as possible. All payments received on the travel platform are sent directly to the laboratories where the passenger has chosen to be tested, chosen from a list of private laboratories approved for testing COVID-19 in Nigeria.

“No payment is received by NCDC for any purpose, whatsoever. We advise that passengers should not make payments outside of the official platform. The NCDC COVID-19 microsite has a list of frequently asked questions and answers, for passengers who may be facing challenges with the travel portal.

“It is important to emphasise that public health laboratories in the NCDC network do not provide testing services to individuals for travel-related purposes. The public health laboratories provide testing free-of-charge as part of the national response. Therefore, travelers are strongly advised to only access accredited private laboratories. A list of accredited private laboratories can be found via www-covid19.ncdc.gov.ng.”

Moses Emorinken, Abuja

In a bid to meet the UNAIDS target of ensuring that 95 percent of Nigerians know their HIV status by 2030, the Civil Society for HIV/AIDS in Nigeria (CiSHAN), has started a campaign to reach 10 million people with HIV self-testing kits by the end of 2020.

The campaign will further lead to the identification of the newly diagnosed HIV positive individuals and linking them to treatment in partnership with the Lead Implementing Partners for each state.

The Executive Secretary of CiSHAN, Walter Ugwocha, made this known in Abuja on Tuesday, during a virtual media round table for the commencement of the national campaign for HIV self-testing in Nigeria.

He said, “The Nigerian AIDS Indicator and Impact Survey (2018) results showed that Nigeria was lagging behind in achieving the 1st 95 of the 95-95-95 target by 2030. The lockdown arising from COVID-19 had also significantly decreased access of community members – general, key, and vulnerable population – to HIV testing.

“Prior to the lockdown, there had been challenges with thinking around how to address the gap with populations access to HIV testing and identifying the unreached HIV positive population.

“The need to evolve community-driven HIV testing strategies was further re-affirmed by the anecdotal field reports by CISHAN during the lockdown. CiSHAN had coordinated a national effort in partnership with Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA), Association of Women Against AIDS in Nigeria (ASWHAN) and the Association of Positive Youth in Nigeria (APYIN) to work with identified community members/advocates in cohorts to deliver anti-retroviral drugs to PLHIV in need of it during the intensive phase of the lockdown. CISHAN volunteers identified multiple individuals who asked for where to get tested: a gap that could be addressed through access to self-test kits.

READ ALSO: Entrepreneurs trained on HIV self-testing

“The strategy is focused on creating awareness and demand for HIV self-testing in Nigeria. Through its over 5,000 members located in the 774 local government areas of Nigeria, CISHAN with the support of the media will facilitate access to HIV self-testing kits in both rural and hard to reach areas/populations. This campaign is a code-named HIV Self Testing Campaign: Getting 10 million Nigerians to know their HIV status through HIV Self Testing.”

He, therefore, urged the Federal Ministry of Health, National Agency for the Control of AIDS (NACA), and various state Ministries, Agencies, and Departments involved with the HIV/AIDS response to disseminate HIV Self Testing guidelines urgently.

Ugwocha stated that the test kits are available in major pharmacies across the country. He however said CiSHAN will be distributing the kits free of charge to targeted populations, and urged respected organizations like the Dangote Foundation and MTN Foundation to support the donation to pregnant women and indigent citizens.

“We also call on PEPFAR, Global Fund, and other donors to increase their commitment to HIV Self Testing in the country as a means of reaching the unreached populations most especially Adolescents and Young Persons and Key Populations.

“We call on all State governments to procure self-test kits and deploy the same to institutions of learning, churches and facilitates its use during outreaches to community members as a way to bridge the gap in HIV testing coverage especially during this COVID-19 era,” he added.

From Onimisi Alao, Yola

 

Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has approved the appointment of a new chairman for the Adamawa State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board.

The new man at the helm of the Muslim Pilgrims Board is Sheikh Ibrahim Daware.

Daware, a foremost Islamic scholar and cleric, is also currently the national chairman of Zawiatu Darikatu Tijjaniyya Foundation of Nigeria and a former chairman of Fityanul Islam of Nigeria.

 

• Other announcements include support for vulnerable populations, education, and business to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic

Google on Tuesday announced plans to help businesses, job seekers,  educational institutions and vulnerable populations as they grapple with the “new normal” and begin to rebuild and recover from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis locally and across the continent.

The tech company’s initiatives will address the need for funding, training and services across identified sectors, including support for 500,000 SMBs and 25,000 teachers.

This support includes a partnership with the Nigerian Ministry of Youth and Sports Development. The partnership will provide support for youth-owned SMBs.  It will also provide support for jobseekers in Nigeria to help them acquire marketable skills through certification and training programs, and involve supporting programs that enable and improve access to quality education across the region.

Google has set up a digital hub providing free tools and resources to businesses and individuals. Through the hub, 500,000 small businesses will receive help getting online or improving their digital presence through Google My Business (GMB) which helps them connect with millions of users every month.

“Small businesses have been hardest hit during this period. Many of them have had to figure out quickly how to pivot their operations to a ‘digital-first’ approach. Yet, there remains a gap between those who can access these online opportunities and those who can’t. That’s the gap we want to bridge with these initiatives,” says Google Nigeria Country Director Juliet Ehimuan.

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“We are focused on creating an enabling environment that promotes youth and economic development in Nigeria. This partnership with Google in Nigeria is critical at this period and we look forward to seeing the positive impact it will have on SMBs’ recovery, enhancing the skills of jobseekers and supporting the education sector,” says the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Nigeria, Sunday Dare.

To provide assistance to vulnerable populations, Google.org has set aside $3 million in grants to nonprofits that support education, entrepreneurship and women empowerment across Africa.

$500,000 of that is going towards a grant to the Praekelt Foundation (a software development non-profit that builds open-source, scalable mobile technologies and solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of underprivileged people) in order to help train micro and small businesses in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

In an effort to help job seekers acquire new skills while they look for opportunities, Google is providing underserved communities and job seekers with $750,000 in  IT support scholarships through Google.org across Africa. Job seekers can also access the Grow with Google training portal for help in growing their careers or businesses at their own pace and through flexible and personalized training courses.

For educational institutions and teachers, Google is working with partners across Africa, through Google for Education, to help deploy its suite of education products in schools and help 500,000 students continue learning. To help teachers keep teaching, Google aims to give 25,000 educators access to free online training sessions and resources, such as Teach From Anywhere. Google is also giving a grant of $250,000 to organizations in Nigeria which are developing programs and tools to boost literacy for children in low-income schools in the country.

Google is also launching a new Marketing Kit tool to help people to put together marketing kits for their businesses while the free Market Finder tool (which includes updated insights for negotiating a COVID and post-COVID environment) is there to help with localisation, international payments and logistics for African businesses looking to reach new customers around the world. Using information from their Google My Business profile the tool helps businesses keep customers informed with their latest news, create custom posters and social posts.

“We will continue to do our part to help businesses recover and grow, help more people prepare for jobs, and support students, teachers and underserved communities. And in so doing, we hope to create real economic opportunity for everyone,” concludes Ehimuan.

Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

The Senate President Ahmed Lawan has said the National Assembly was committed to strengthening the nation’s health sector.

He gave the assurance in Nnewi Anambra State during the commissioning of the N500m isolation centre at the permanent site of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, assuring Nigerians of a better health system.

Represented by Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Senator Ibrahim Oloriegbe, Lawan said the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the littleness of the country’s health sector, pledging lawmakers’ synergy with the executive towards revamping the sector.

He said: “We’ll continue to make our health sector that’s exposed by the COVID-19 to be very weak and infrastructurally poor, stronger and more efficient.

“In the revised 2020 budget in the health sector, every state in Nigeria has been made to have one 30-bed infectious disease hospital to forestall any pandemic or other emergency situations.

“Every state will have a 10-bed ICU center. Every of the 52 Teaching Hospitals including that of NAUTH will have one fully molecular diagnostic laboratory.

READ ALSO: NCDC boss: pandemic lessons will strengthen health system

“From the 500bn allocated in the budget for COVID-19, the health sector got 126b. It’s with these funds that we’re providing all these.”

While commending the initiator of the project, Senator Ifeanyi Ubah for the stride amidst economic hardship occasioned by the pandemic, Lawan called on others to support the project to ensure its full operation.

Ubah said the project was part of the solutions to the effects of the pandemic, adding that it would be replicated in the three geopolitical districts of the state.

He said, “We the Anambra Progressives have agreed that we will not sit back and watch government to provide everything. We will not wait for the government to do the things we know we can do.

“We’re constructing three Medical/Surgical Centres with specific specialties in different health areas in Nnewi, Awka, and Nsugbe.

“We also plan to build Anambra Progressives industrial layout for job creation for our teeming youths.”