Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has urged Chinese businessmen and other industrialists in Nigeria’s health sector to reduce medical equipment importation and establish production assembly plants.
Kalu made the call when he received in audience a delegation from the Royal Meditech Equipment (Nig) Company Limited led by its director, Gari Li, over the weekend in Abuja.
In a statement by his chief press secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu said the federal government is pursuing a health security programme through industrialisation.
Kalu added that the present economic climate in Nigeria does not support much importation of goods and services because of the challenges the Naira is facing.
He, therefore, challenged the company to develop the intention of establishing a facility in Nigeria that will produce Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ventilators, feeding pumps, and other essential machines, emphasizing that the idea would also create jobs for the unemployed.
Kalu said, “Our nation is currently pursuing health security through industrialization. This idea happens to be an outcome of post-COVID-19 analysis where the dependence of our country was hinged in the provisions from other countries. We noticed that basic things were not locally sourced. Most of them were sourced across the borders.
“Based on that, the current administration, to forestall such happening again, is focusing on the policy to increase Indigenous support system for our health structures.
I was happy when I heard that you have even been here since 2010. So, when the COVID era happened and the challenges we faced, you saw it firsthand.
“The encouragement of this government is due to the fact that organisations like yours will begin to find reasons to build a presence beyond administrative small business units locally and assemble facilities that will give us a better sense of health security.”
Gari Li told the deputy speaker in his presentation that their company has an international presence and offices in China, South Beach, Miami, the US, Mexico City, Mexico, and Nairobi, Kenya.
He explained that they have been in Nigeria since 2010 and have offices in Lagos, Kano, and Abuja. In the three offices, 14 Chinese and 98 Nigerians are staff members.
“We are into hospital building, equipping and renovation. We do not only sell; we train doctors. We give sound warranty. We are working with more than 700 hospitals in Nigeria. We work with nearly all the federal hospitals, teaching hospitals, medical centres and specialist hospitals.
“We are working with many of the state hospitals. We are working with plenty of hospitals. Right now, we are working with many different ministries for solar. We are working with many other organisations in Nigeria, including the government and private sectors.
“We want to join hands with Your Excellency to improve and build more modern hospitals to improve the health delivery in Nigeria for the good people of Nigeria. And to bring more power to Nigeria through the clean energy solar products,” he said.
