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Zipline Begins delivery of Medical Products to Health Facilities in Cross River State
Zipline has announced the start of commercial deliveries of essential medical products to health facilities within the Cross-River State. This follows a successful approval and a right to fly certification from the Civil Aviation Authorities in Nigeria.
Health officials at the Maternal and Child Health Clinic (MCH), recipients of the very first delivery of a medical product from the Ndok distribution center of Zipline, were full of excitement to learn that the challenge of access and unavailability of medical products for their clients are now a thing of the past.
Also, Mr Godwin Ipuole, the health officer-in-charge of Primary Health Center, Ibil – Ogoja, expressed appreciation to the state government for the bold decision to use technology to remove the access barriers that many far-to-reach communities, like Ibil, face in the course of their work.
“Vaccine stock-outs have been a huge challenge to us. Our inability to always meet the health needs of our clients, simply on the grounds of non-availability of essential medicines lowers our motivation. I have no doubt that with such a transformative technology, our primary challenge of access will be a thing of the past”, he said.
Cross River State becomes the second state in Nigeria after Kaduna State to go commercial with the use of Zipline drone technology.
Deaconess Mrs Abasioffiong Offiong, Director General of the Cross-River State Primary Health Care Development Agency, said the decision to partner Zipline was to support the efforts of the State in the quest to achieve Universal Health Coverage.
Mrs Abasioffiong was speaking after leading all the eighteen LGA Primary Health Care Directors on a tour of the Zipline Facility in Ogoja. She was hopeful that the technology will play a key role in the overall healthcare delivery within the State.
“It is our expectation that all medical commodities to all the primary healthcare agencies within the various local governments will be sourced from Zipline. With the degree of efficiency that Zipline puts into their work, we anticipate that all essential medicines requested will be delivered timely and within the right conditions.
“This is an opportunity for us as a State to improve the overall universal health delivery project we have committed to deliver”.
Zipline, as part of the memorandum of understanding with the Cross River State, will build and operate two distribution centers from where they will store essential medicines and vaccines. Health workers will place orders by text message or call and promptly receive their deliveries exactly when and where they need them in 30 minutes on average.
“Our technology is proven to be one of choice for the last mile delivery. By this partnership with the Cross-River State, we should immediately begin seeing very significant improvements in the delivery of essential medicines and vaccines to health facilities within our operational area”, said Catherine Odiase, General Manager of Zipline Nigeria.
“We are deeply indebted to the State government and all the state agencies that worked tirelessly to get us the required certification for the commencement of commercial deliveries in Cross River State”.
Zipline drones fly autonomously and can carry 3 kilos of cargo, cruising at 110 kilometers an hour, and have a round trip range of 220 kilometers – even in high speed winds and rain.
Deliveries are made from the sky, with the drone descending to a safe height above the ground and releasing a box of medicine by parachute to a designated spot at the health centers and community delivery points it serves.
Zipline operates on three continents and completes an instant delivery on behalf of businesses and governments every two minutes. To date, Zipline has delivered more than 500,000 packages, more than 5 million products, and flown more than 40 million autonomous miles – 20 times the amount that the world’s largest autonomous vehicle company has completed.
Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal (CCPT) in Abuja has dismissed a class action suit filed by one Uche Diala and 961 other DStv and GOtv subscribers against MultiChoice Nigeria and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), citing lack of jurisdiction.
The suit challenged MultiChoice’s subscription price increases in November 2023 and May 2024, which the claimants described as arbitrary, exploitative, and unfair.
Diala and others sought to reverse the hikes and compel the company to adopt a more flexible billing model, such as a pay-as-you-view system used in other countries like South Africa.
They also accused MultiChoice of price discrimination against Nigerian consumers.
MultiChoice, through its counsel, raised a preliminary objection, arguing that pricing decisions do not fall within the tribunal’s remit and that the suit was improperly filed as a class action without first seeking the tribunal’s leave.
In its ruling on Thursday, the tribunal’s three-member panel led by Justice Thomas Okosun held that the core issues raised, which were pricing and tariff regulation, fall under the exclusive purview of the executive branch, particularly the President, as stipulated under the Price Control Act.
“The issue of price regulation is a matter that falls within the exclusive purview of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Okosun stated.
While the tribunal acknowledged it holds both original and appellate jurisdiction under the FCCPC Act, it emphasized that such authority does not cover general price control unless abuse of market dominance is established—a point the claimants failed to prove.
On the procedural matter of filing a class action without prior approval, the tribunal noted that although it is ideal to obtain leave, failure to do so was not fatal in this instance since the claimants demonstrated a shared grievance and common interest.
Nonetheless, the tribunal upheld MultiChoice’s objection, ruling that it lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate the matter.
“The preliminary objection of the first defendant succeeds,” the panel held. “This suit is accordingly struck out for want of jurisdiction.”
This ruling follows a similar outcome on May 8, when a Federal High Court in Abuja upheld MultiChoice’s price increases after the company sued the FCCPC.
In that judgment, Justice James Omotoso declared that the FCCPC lacked the authority to fix or suspend subscription rates.
MultiChoice Nigeria has slashed the price of its DStv decoder from N20,000 to N10,000, representing a 50 percent drop, in a aim at attracting attract more customers and curb declining subscriptions.
The campaign, titled “We’ve Got You,” was launched on June 16 and will continue until July 31.
Also, as part of its efforts to ease economic pressure on households and improve access to digital TV services, the campaign offers a free upgrade for both active and returning customers.
Speaking on the campaign, John Ugbe, chief executive officer (CEO) of MultiChoice Nigeria, said the initiative reflects the company’s commitment to rewarding loyalty and enhancing daily viewing experiences.
“We want to ensure our customers feel appreciated and have access to the best entertainment every day,” Ugbe said.
“The ‘We’veGot You’ campaign is about making premium content more accessible and showing that DStv offers something for everyone, not just football fans.
“By repositioning itself as a platform for daily value, DStv aims to encourage content discovery across a wider array of genres, including movies, drama, kids’ programming, and news.
“This means more channels, more shows, and more reasons to tune in every day.”
The development comes amid MultiChoice Nigeria’s legal battle with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) over price hike.
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) will, on Oct. 7, arraigned the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Qatar Airways, Mr Temi Birdzell, alongside the company and its top officers, over allegations bordering on breach of FCCPC Act, 2018.
The defendants will be arraigned before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Others to be arraigned with Birdzell are Stella Ihediwa, the Account Manager of the airline; Kennedy Chirchir, the Country Manager and Eva Ojeje, who is the Sales Manager of the company.
Although the arraignment was scheduled for Tuesday, the matter could not proceed.
Upon resumed hearing, none of the defendants was in court.
When the matter was called on Tuesday, none of the defendants was in court due to improper service of the court documents, including the hearing notice, on them.
FCCPC.’s lawyer, Chizenum Nsitem, told the court of their inability to serve four of the defendants, although the company was served.
Nsitem then sought an adjournment to enable them do the needful and the judge adjourned the matter until Oct. 7 for the defendants to take their plea.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commission, in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/200/2025, dragged Qatar Airways, Birdzell, Ihediwa, Chirchir and Ojeje to court as 1st to 5th defendants respectively.
FCCPC, in the application dated May 26 but filed May 27, had preferred a two-count charge against the defendants.
The defendants were alleged to have failed to appear before FCCPC in compliance with a lawful summons of the commission dated Sept. 6, 2024, and thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 33 (3) of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection (FCCPC) Act, 2018.
They were also accused to have on Sept. 18, 2024, intentionally withheld the production of documents in compliance wth a lawful summons of the commission, thereby committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 111 of FCCP Act, 2018.
In count three, they were alleged to have on Sept. 18, 2024, engaged in the contravention of the consumer rights, thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 124(1) and punishable under Section 155 of the same Act.
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