COVID-19: FCT Minister commends UN for its contribution

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, has commended the United Nations for its continued support to the FCT in the fight against COVID 19.

He gave the commendation when he received the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator to Nigeria, Ambassador Edward Kallon and his team on a courtesy visit to the FCTA, attributing the successes achieved in the FCT in the fight against the virus, to partnerships and cooperation from the UN and other development partners.

In a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Mr Anthony Ogunleyw, Bello assured his guests that the FCTA was working assiduously to strengthen its healthcare facilities to enhance its capacity to confront the outbreak of any infectious disease, stressing that its preparedness has thus far aided it in effectively combating the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said: “We have established good protocols to make sure that we handle this third wave. The protocols that we have established during the first wave and the second wave have helped us tremendously and the experience and institutional capacity we’ve been able to develop during the last two phases is also helping us now”.

“For instance, Malam Bello continued, we are comfortable now with the production and storage of oxygen in the FCT. We have a number of plants that are up and running, some under the Federal Government and quite a few under the FCT administration”

“We have now under the FCTA, a facility where we can take in up to 80 patients at one go who require full oxygen and this is piped to their beds where they can be taken care of. By the grace of God, we have never had the occasion to require the services of that facility, but it’s there. The medical personnel are there, all the trainings have been done. This is one investment that we have done at huge cost, but we pray that we never use it”, the Minister added.

Malam Bello also assured his guests that the FCTA will not relent in its responsibility of keeping residents safe and will continue to encourage them to adhere to all non-pharmaceutical protocols and getting vaccinated.

Speaking on the 10thanniversary of the UN building bombing, the Minister said it was a sad event that could not be forgotten in a hurry and expressed happiness at the opportunity of working to rehabilitate the building even better than it was prior to the incident.

Earlier Ambassador Edward Kallon had commended the Minister for facilitating the rehabilitation of the UN House after the 2011 attack, adding that though it was a very sad day for the UN family, the defiance of the government of Nigeria against terrorism, as indicated in the investment made to rehabilitate the building, has kept hope alive.

Kallon also cautioned against complacency in the fight against COVID 19, especially in the face of the third wave of the virus, which he described as more potent, advising on the adherence to non-pharmaceutical safety protocols.