- Alleged Scandalous Ethical Breaches Provoke Fears
- Lack Of CMP Starts Off Fears Of Mass Infection At Agency
By Hamilton Nwosa (Head, The New Diplomat’s Business and Data Tracking Desk)
The alleged absence of an applicable Crisis Management Plan(CMP) at the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) has set in motion rising apprehension over likely threats of the deadly Coronavirus infection impacting negatively on both staff and management of the Agency.
This is coming amidst reports that a top shot at the NPA who heads a Port and Cargo department under the supervision of NPA managing director, Hadiza Bala Usman did only test positive to covid-19 but allegedly breached ethical guidelines by not submitting himself to self-isolation upon arriving from a visit to a high-risk family as well as failure to report himself to the NCDC
Sources revealed that this development coupled with lack of a professionally designed Crisis Management Plan (CMP) complemented by a Crisis Management Team(CMT) at the NPA has heightened serious upheaval at the agency as staff and management are concerned that the fellow could have infected many people as he has been in contact with various levels of staff and management members.
Said an insider: “We are very worried. The NPA like many Nigerian agencies don’t even know what is called a professional Crisis Management plan(CMP) and Crisis Management Team(CMT) not with-standing the amount of funds generated from the ports. They are in trouble now because this fellow has been mixing with everyone including staff and management since he came back from his travel, and he has been tested and it shows positive. We don’t know how many people he has infected with this virus now.”
Another source revealed that upon testing positive, the patient started self-treatment at a private hospital in Apapa, Lagos, another scandalous ethical infraction. Going by NCDC guidelines, he ought to report immediately to NCDC. However, in a belated reaction, the NPA while confirming the reports said on Sunday that” the concerned staff recently proceeded on a visit to his father-in-law only to discovered that they had taken ill.”
The NPA in a statement issued by its General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Jatto A Adams said “company, in line with advice from Port Health Services, has disinfected the premises, while all personnel who interacted with the staff have been identified and asked to self-isolate.”
The statement disclosed as follows: “A member of staff of one of the terminals at the ports, who has not been at the office since Friday April 17, 2020 had visited his father-in-law and family during the weekend of Friday, April 17, 2020 and Sunday April 19, 2020. On arrival, he discovered that the medical practitioner father-in- law, his own wife and children had taken ill.
“On Monday, April 20, they were all diagnosed with Coronavirus as a result of which he decided to isolate himself and get tested. He wrote to the office to inform them about the situation and his decision to self-isolate. On Thursday, April 23,2020, he again wrote to inform the company that he had tested positive to Coronavirus and that the entire family was now receiving treatment at one of the isolation centres in Lagos. The company immediately (on the same Thursday, April 23,2020) wrote to inform and seek advice from the Coordinator of Health Ports Services in line with guidelines laid down by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC). for the report of COVID-19 incidents. The company, in line with advice from Port Health Services, has disinfected the premises, while all personnel who interacted with the staff have been identified and asked to self-isolate.”
However, a Crisis Management expert told The New Diplomat that the issues go beyond merely disinfecting the premises and asking identified people to go on self-isolation because there hasn’t been any designated, and professionally tracked data and metrics to undertake such move with the implication that the NPA may have people already infected with the virus having established contact with the affected fellow. “ You have got to engage Crisis Management experts to help. It is the best advise in the circumstance because with Oil process down, if the Lagos Port is down, the implications can only be imagined.
Recall that the cases of covid-19 have been on a consistent increase nation-wide. As at last count, it was 1095 as confirmed by the NCDC.
