The Nigeria Air Force (NAF) has commenced mass production of face masks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to fight the coronavirus in the country.

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, said this on Friday while inaugurating a tailoring workshop and the newly reactivated Mi-35P attack helicopter at the 115 Special Operations Group in Port Harcourt.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Federal Government recently appealed to tailors to commence the production of face mask to ease its shortages in the country.

According to Abubakar, the tailoring workshop is a replica of a similar centre in Kaduna used for the production of personnel uniforms.

“The tailoring workshop is an initiative that we started mainly for the production of service uniforms for our personnel.

“However, in response to the current emergency situation (Covid-19), the facility has commenced the mass production of face masks and PPE needed to protect Nigerians from the virus.

“I’ve directed that they (personnel) ensure that the PPE is certified by relevant agencies of government before they are deployed to our (NAF) hospitals and other hospitals,” he said.

Abubakar said that NAF had also commenced production of Liquid Oxygen from its plant in Yola, Adamawa, for use by hospitals.

Read Also: FG Donates 250 Bags Of Spoilt Beans, Other Items To Benue IDPs

He said the force was also looking at other areas to support the Federal Government’s efforts to halt further spread of the virus in the country.

Abubakar added that the reactivation of the Mi-35P attack helicopter was aimed at complementing the efforts of ground forces fighting insurgents and bandits in the North East and North West Zones.

“So, we are very excited that our technicians and engineers working round the clock have completed another in-country repair of this Mi-35P aircraft into flying status.

“This means that our ability to project air power has been enhanced in supporting sister security agencies to restore normalcy in some parts of the country.

“We also commend the Federal Government for providing 22 helicopter gunships and other aircraft which have already been inducted into the service,” he said.

Air Commodore Uche Nwagwu, Managing Director, Nigerian Air Force Investment Limited (NAFIL), said the tailoring workshop in Kaduna, which was established in June 2017, had produced about 116,480 pairs of uniforms.

He added that the Port Harcourt workshop had so far produced over 36,800 face masks and 450 PPE since it commenced production on April 3.

The Benue State Emergen­cy Management Agency (SEMA) on Monday lament­ed the donation of 250 bags of spoilt beans to internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state as palliatives from the Federal Government.

The agency also lamented the influx of more than 10,000 refugees into the state, as well as more IDPs into the camps.

The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants, and Internally Displaced Persons had donated the beans to the IDPs on Monday in Makurdi, on behalf of the Federal Gov­ernment.

But when asked to com­ment, Governor Samuel Or­tom said he was not yet aware that 250 bags of spoilt beans had been donated to IDPs in the state.

The governor, who prom­ised to investigate the matter, however, said the state had re­ceived three trailers of rice from the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and that the state was still ex­pecting more from Dangote Foundation.

He appreciated those that had delivered and those that were on their way to deliv­ering and praised them for their gesture.

But Emmanuel Shior, Executive Secretary, SEMA, who earlier disclosed that he received the spoilt beans as well as other items on behalf of the IDPs, expressed grati­tude to President Muhamma­du Buhari for the care and support to IDPs in the state.

Read Also: Abia Online Media Practitioners Commend Hon. Nkole Over Donation Of Food Palliatives

The Accountant of SEMA, Steven Bubwa, who repre­sented the Executive Secre­tary at the occasion, said: “We took permission from them to share items the commission brought to us, ranging from food and non-food items, including 216 bags of beans, which was almost spoilt”.

When Daily Indepen­dent sought the attention of Bashir Garba, the National Commissioner of the Com­mission, to comment on the alleged ‘spoilt beans’, he ig­nored our correspondent and walked briskly to his waiting car and zoomed off.

Earlier, Bashir explained that the team was in Benue to support persons displaced from their homes and forced to live in their host commu­nities.

He said: “As an agency mandated to provide care and maintenance to these vulnerable groups, we will continue to do our best to make their lives better.

“We thank Mr President for his support and commit­ment towards alleviating the sufferings of vulnerable people.”

Items donated to the IDPs include 355 bags of rice, 56 bags of garri, 256 bags of millet, 300 gallons of palm oil, 23 bags of iodized salt, 71 cartons of tomato paste, and 65 cartons of Maggi.

Some of the non-food items are assorted drugs, 1500 mats, 1000 pieces of blankets, 80 cartons of de­tergents, 80 cartons of toilet soap, 85 dozens of bathroom slippers of various sizes, and 800 plastics.

• Senate Approves Buhari’s Request To Secure Fresh N850 Billion Loan

President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the Senate to approve his request to secure a fresh N850 billion loan to fund some projects in the 2020 budget, ABN TV Reports

He made the request in a letter read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Tuesday on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.

According to the letter, President Buhari seeks to raise the loan from the domestic capital market to ensure adequate funds to finance projects in the budget.

After the letter was read, the lawmakers gave accelerated approval to the President’s request to raise the loan.

They also asked the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriation to liaise with the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to get more details on the loan request.

President Buhari’s request was granted following the senators’ resumption from a recess which lasted about five weeks.

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The lawmakers had gone on break since March as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

At the resumed plenary, the Senate President welcomed his colleagues and gave the reason for the resumption of plenary amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

He explained that the decision was to help sustain solutions to the health crisis and ensure the crisis does not create more problems for the government and its people.

Senator Lawan stated that the pandemic has affected the 2020 budget and the National Assembly has a responsibility to work with the Executive to address the problem.

Meanwhile, the Senate Leader, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya, has moved a motion to suspend Order 11 to enable senators to speak from seats not belonging to them.

He explained that this was to enable the lawmaker to comply with social distancing, which was part of the measures to check the spread of COVID-19.