The Federal Government has appealed to local auto manufacturers to modify their operations to produce more ventilators for the health system as it has become imperative to do so being a critical equipment for the treatment of COVID-19 pandemic.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, made this known while briefing journalists on latest government efforts to curtail the negative impact of coronavirus pandemic on the manufacturing, trade and other related sectors of the economy.

According to him, the ministry is mobilising the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) as well as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to speed up certification procedures for essential items needed by Nigerians in preventing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic

Partnering with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the minister said the two organisations would also help to identify and augment the list of essential goods and services needed to combat the pandemic such as hand sanitizers, face masks, needles, goggles, gloves, sodium hypo chloride and digital thermometers.

“We are engaging our indigenous car manufacturers at this time to prepare themselves to shift their operations to begin the manufacture of made-in-Nigeria ventilators – a critical medical equipment in the fight against the virus.” Adebayo said.

He also stated that the impact of the pandemic had reinforced the need for a post-COVID-19 committee that would address challenges as the nation prepares for what to come.

Also speaking at the media briefing, the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mansur Ahmed, said Nigerian manufacturers had been producing over 27 million masks monthly as against the two million that it produced previously.