The federal government under President Muhammadu Buhari has prepared a plan to provide free healthcare services for 83 million vulnerable Nigerians.
This was disclosed by the General manager, National Health lnsurance Authority (NHlA), Ilorin Zone, Mr. Adelaja Abereoran, during an interview.
According to him, the federal government’s decision followed the realisation that most vulnerable Nigerians lack the wherewithal to access the health services they needed.
Abereoran statement reads; “There is a plan by the federal government in the new reviewed Act of the National Health lnsurance Authority (NHlA) to provide free medical treatment to over 83 million vulnerable Nigerians to alleviate their sufferings,” Abereoro said.
He called on the state governments to complement the efforts of the federal government by establishing health insurance agencies to enable more people access quality healthcare services across the states.
He said Nigeria cannot achieve a comprehensive healthcare delivery without the support of the States and other stakeholders in the health sector.
Abereoro called on states and federal lawmakers to include health insurance scheme in their constituency projects to cater for their constituents’ health needs.
He noted that the services of the Authority have been updated in consonance with global best practices, stating that the scheme now cover general medical check-up.
He said under the reviewed Act of the Scheme, Corps Members are eligible to free healthcare services from the day of their mobilisation till the end of their service year, including those who carry pregnancy during the service year.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited boss, Mele Kyari has said the importation of petroleum products into the country will be stopped by mid-2023.
Mele Kyari disclosed this at a press briefing at the State House on Tuesday in Abuja, on Tuesday, August 30, 2022.
According to him, the combined output of Nigeria’s refineries being revamped and the Dangote refinery would be enough to stop importation.
“So, you will not have a need for the importation of petroleum products into this country by the middle of next year,” he said.
Mr Kyari said, “Even if all the refineries are working today, you will still have a net deficit of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to import into this country.”
He said this was because the country’s population and demand for products had grown.
The NNPC boss said aside from owning 20 percent equity in Dangote Refinery, NNPC Ltd had the right of first refusal to supply crude oil to that plant.
He expressed optimism that the Dangote Refinery would become operational by the middle of 2023.
According to him, the refinery has a production capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, with different technology.
Mr Kyari said this means “that it can crack the crude in a manner that you can have more gasoline than a typical refinery; that means the refinery has the ability to produce up to 50 million litres of PMS.
“So, the combination of that and our own ability to bring back our refinery will completely eliminate any importation of petroleum products into this country.”
The NNPC boss said he was looking forward to Nigeria becoming a hub of export of petroleum products, not just to the West African region but to the rest of the world.
He said he was upbeat as the flow of supply would change by the middle of 2023.
Source: intelregion
