President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Wednesday launched the Nigeria National Stroke Prevention Programme to forestall the alarming rate of sudden deaths in the country.
During the launch at the fore-court of the Presidential Villa, the president and the Vice-President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, underwent series of medical check-ups in a mobile ambulance.
The ceremony, which was conducted half way into the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, was witnessed by ministers, presidential aides and other workers in the Presidential Villa.
Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting, the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the programme was approved by the president as an antidote to the sudden death syndrome.
He said government was worried about the alarming rate of sudden death of Nigerians, particularly at their prime, and therefore evolved the programme to encourage people to check up their health status regularly for preventive measures.
“The health awareness programme is to help Nigerians to check up on their health on regular basis to take fitness seriously and take close attention to their lifestyles.
“Apart from in-born pre-conditions, the main causes of stroke and heart-attack are things that can be prevented like hypertension, diabetes, lack of exercise, excessive consumption of alcohol and smoking and so on.
“The president felt something needed to be done on a national scale. So the president and the vice- president demonstrated leadership by example by allowing themselves to go through the same process.
“They were seen by consultant doctors, who carried out some tests on them, such as body mass index, measurement of height and weight, blood pressure.
“The president approved of the programme to be managed by the Federal Ministry of Health in collaboration with federal teaching hospitals and other hospitals in Nigeria as well as the Nigeria in Diaspora to execute the programme,’’ he said.
Chukwu said the cost of the test was N50,000 but the government had subsidised it and reduced the cost to N10,000, particularly, for indigent Nigerians.
The Minister of Transport, Alhaji Idris Umar, said the council approved a 3.5 million dollars contract for the construction, delivery and inauguration of 100 R-Class MDPE Channel marking buoys for the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
He said the buoys would be constructed at Lagos, Warri, Port-Harcourt and Calabar ports’ access channels.
The minister said that upon completion, the buoys would assist in the delineation of the channels leading to the ports and enhance safe navigation in and out of the ports.
He said the contract was awarded in favour of Messrs Marina Energy Ltd. with a completion period of five months.
Idris said the council also approved the augmentation of an existing contract for land reclamation at Abam-Onuji-Ojimba-Okijagbu and Ama Waterfront and back swamps.
“Council had earlier last year approved the contract for a sum of N7.9 billion.
“But because of a compelling need to enhance the work, added with the recommendation by the consultants for additional works and the need to reclaim nine additional hectares and in some areas to put in more reinforcement in the project, council approved the augmentation in the sum of N900 million,’’ he said.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, said that the International Financial Corporation (IFC) had shown commitment to finance the critical gas backbone pipeline infrastructure projects in the country.
She said the decision to finance the gas infrastructure was sequel to the transparent manner the government handled the privatisation process of the energy sector.
She said government was particularly interested in the financing of the development of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) line.
“The IFC commended the power privatisation process, saying it is one of the most successful in the world.
“It was based on the successful privatisation process that the IFC made commitment to support the gas project.
“The mobilisation of the financial support is expected over the next six months,’’ she said.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama, said government would, in the next few weeks, organise a forum for the new investors in the power sector and the local and international financial institutions.
He also said that the Islamic Development Bank has already budgeted a total sum of two billion dollars to be invested in the private sector in Nigeria.
The Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr Olusegun Aganga, said that following the launch of National Automotive Policy, Nissan Automobile had written to partner with Innoson Automobile to establish a vehicle manufacturing plant in the country.
