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NLNG Begins Unveiling Varsity Teaching Hospital Projects In 12 States
Nigeria LNG (NLNG) Limited has begun the commissioning of Phase 1 projects in its multi-billion-naira Hospital Support Programme (NLNG HSP) with the opening of a maternity centre at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada.
The company will also commission new Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), and the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH) in 2022 as part of the first phase of its HSP programme.
A statement signed by the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Andy Odeh, and made available to The Tide in Port Harcourt, said that six hospitals were selected in the first phase, stressing that NLNG HSP was targeting 12 hospitals from the six geographical zones in the country.
Other projects in the first phase due for commissioning early 2023 include an Occupational Therapy and Neuromodulation Rehabilitation Centre at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), in Kano; an Obstetrics & Gynecology Ward at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), in Lagos; and a Neurosurgical & Stroke Centre at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), in Calabar.
Commissioning the maternity centre, Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, commended NLNG for the partnership and commitment to raising the level of healthcare delivery in the country.
Ehanire said NLNG’s contribution of a modern maternity and child centre to UATH was in line with the principles of universal health coverage, and also called for more partnerships in the sector to fill gaps in healthcare delivery.
Speaking on NLNG’s commitment to Hospital Support Programme, NLNG’s MD, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, said the programme was conceived following the company’s COVID-19 intervention, and its concern over the increasing pressure on the healthcare facilities in the country.
He stated that the goal of the project was to boost the tertiary healthcare delivery system in 12 university teaching hospitals in the six geopolitical zones in the country, with attendant impacts on medical research and retention of in-country medical expertise.
“First hand, we have seen how investment in the health sector can change the face of healthcare delivery in Nigeria. We contributed significantly to fighting COVID-19 through the NNPC and other Oil and Gas Industry Partners COVID-19 Intervention Programme by donating numerous intensive care medical equipment to medical facilities across the country.
“At the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, for instance, the equipment came in handy for the successful separation of a set of conjoined twins. This feat brought us at NLNG a lot of satisfaction as we saw the impact that our donation made in the lives of those innocent children and others who would utilise the equipment. We believe we can expand this impact by investing more in facilities across the country,” he said.
He stated further that each facility in the programme was based on the results of needs analyses which were carried out in conjunction with the respective hospitals, to determine NLNG’s intervention area for each of the chosen teaching hospitals.
The newly commissioned UATH Maternity Centre consists of a 10-bed delivery suite, a 10-bed post-natal ward, two operating theatres, 10-bed Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU), consulting rooms, doctors and nurses’ rooms, a laboratory, a pharmacy, medical records office, a Close-Circuit Television (CCTV) system, Ultrasound scan room and other administrative offices.
The NLNG HSP is the second part of NLNG’s national Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
The first part was the University Support Programme (USP) for the construction/rehabilitation of modern engineering laboratories, equipped with cutting-edge equipment in six universities which have since been completed.
The other six university teaching hospitals to benefit from the HS Programme in Phase Two in 2023 through 2024 are Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Bauchi; Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH); Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi; Federal Medical Centre, Asaba; University of Uyo Teaching Hospital (UUTH); and University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) in Rivers State.
Dignitaries at the event include the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, represented by the Director of Hospital Services, Dr. B.O Alonge; NLNG’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Philip Mshelbila; NLNG’s Deputy Managing Director, Mr Olalekan Ogunleye; UATH Chief Medical Director, Professor Bissallah Ekele; Chairperson, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, Senator Betty Apiafi; Chairman, House of Representative Committee on Health, Hon Yusuf Tanko Sununu; the General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, NLNG, Mr. Andy Odeh, among others.
NLNG is an incorporated Joint Venture owned by Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by Nigerian National Petroleum Company (49percent), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6percent), TotalEnergies Gaz & Electricite Holdings (15percent), and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4percent).
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I’m Committed To Community Dev – Ajinwo
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RSG Tasks Rural Dwellers On RAAMP …As Sensitization Team Visits Akulga, Degema, Three Others

Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
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Senate Replaces Natasha As Committee Chairman

The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.
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