The minister of industry, trade and investment, Mr. Niyi Adebayo has said that the federal government was in talks with Innoson and two other motors companies to produce ventilators to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The minister who revealed this in Abuja yesterday revealed that Innoson had specifically sent in a proposal seeking government’s support to manufacture ventilator and expressed the federal government’s willingness to sign the partnership.
He also disclosed that the government was partnership with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to for local manufacturing of food and pharmaceuticals needed to curb coronavirus.
“As you know, world over the coronavirus pandemic has exposed the world to health and economic crisis and countries are shutting down their borders. We’ve thrown that challenge to our manufacturers and they are responding accordingly,” Adebayo said.
He also said a secretariat known as ‘Emergency Operation Centre’ had been opened at the federal ministry of industry, trade and investment to sort out concerns of any manufacturer who encounters challenges in the event of conveying his food or pharmaceutical products from one point in the country to the other.
In his remarks, the president of MAN, Mr. Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, president, said the partnership with the federal government “has been effective in closing gaps in key essential food and pharmaceutical products needed to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We can currently manufacture 27 million masks in a month to curb the spread of the pandemic. We are also working with the government to close the gap of hand sanitiser manufacturing as we are engaging alcohol manufacturers in partnership with the government on that.”
He said further that two of their members had submitted fresh proposals on the manufacturing of ventilators, which he said would be forwarded to the minister for further action.
