By Felix Khanoba
The Federal Government is to engage research institutes, manufacturers and other stakeholders to chart a path for massive production of ventilators in the country.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, said the move would give more bite to current government’s efforts aimed at defeating the novel coronavirus ravaging every part of the world.
A statement made available to The AUTHORITY in Abuja on Wednesday by Mr Ibrahim Haruna, a deputy director (Press) at the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), said the minister stated this while receiving weekly briefing from a committee set up to ensure seamless production and distribution of essential items in the country amid COVID-19.
The Committee, Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) on Sustainable Production/Delivery of Essential Commodities during COVID-19, is domiciled in FMITI.
The minister said the expected collaboration with manufacturers, research institutes and other stakeholders would guarantee robust availability of ventilators, an essential and very critical equipment in managing COVID-19 patients.
Speaking further, Adebayo said the Federal Government is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the nation’s economy is spared of major shock as a result of lockdown put in place to curtail the spread of coronavirus.
He, however, called on heads of security agencies to instruct their personnel at check points across the country to comply with the recent directive by President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the free flow and movement of essential commodities despite the inter-state movement restrictions and curfew within the country.
