Gov. Bello commissions Medical Centre, skill acquisition facility built by NGO »

Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello on Wednesday commissioned a memorial medical centre and skills acquisition centre located in Odu Ogboyaga which was built by the Jennifer Etuh Foundation in honour of the memories of the late Mrs. Jennifer Ramatu Etuh.

The Governor who was represented by his Deputy, Chief Edward Onoja, while thanking the foundation for making a praiseworthy contribution to the development of the state, noted that such type of selfless and massive contribution to the communal well-being was highly commendable.

The Kogi Governor alluded that such gesture was more easily seen among the South Eastern neighbours than in kogi, thus as a Government, it endorsed the trailblazing effort urging Kogi sons and daughters, both at home and abroad to emulate same.

He said “ Hotels and Estates in Abuja and Lagos and other cities faraway from Kogi State are fine, but hospitals, roads, industries and other amenities in your ancestral home should also be on your radar”

Governor Bello agreed that the project was a befitting lasting tribute to the impactful life and times of Mrs. Jennifer Ramatu Etuh that could ever be made by those who knew her and who still love her with what was clearly an enduring affection.

He noted “Even though I did not have the privilege of close acquaintance with this dear departed sister, what we are seeing here today, and the projected trajectory of the facilities after today as laid out by the proprietors is a clear manifestation of what the Christian Holy Book, the Bible, points out about a Woman of Great Virtues in Proverbs Chapter 31, specifically verses 10 and 31. It reads”

The governor stated that although a native of Kagoro in Kaduna State, Jennifer Etuh became a great daughter of Kogi State by marriage, adding that all the persons and resources which make up the Jennifer Etuh Foundation constitute products of the life of this wonderful woman.

Governor Bello pointed out that the NGO’s efforts speaks to two key thematic areas of the New Direction Blueprint – Health, and Youth Engagement and Job Creation while he reeled out some of the notable infrastructural, legislative and human power successes by his administration in the health sector.

He noted that from the hundreds of newly built or reconstructed Primary Health Centres (PHCs) which were serving the populace across the Kogi State, the government was also upgrading its secondary and tertiary health infrastructure with ongoing legacy projects which includes a 300-bed ultramodern Reference Hospital in Okene equipped to diagnose and treat most diseases occurring in our society.

He added that the government was currently renovating and remodeling the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja into a world class institution, including the construction of a brand new administrative block and building brand new General Hospitals in Badoko, Ajaokuta LGA and Gegu Beki in Kogi LGA.

He said “Work has reached advanced stages at the Prince Abubakar Audu University Teaching Hospital, Anyigba. It will be ready in a few months’ time as part of our goal to secure full accreditation for the Medical Programme in that school.

We are constructing an advanced clinical complex at the General Hospital, Isanlu and simultaneously overhauling the Zonal Hospital, Idah and the Adavi Eba Cottage Hospital”.

Governor Bello pointed out that his government has acquired 11 renal dialysis machines of which 6 are currently on ground in the state with 5 more on the way. He revealed that they will equip 6 state-of-the-art kidney dialysis centres which we are setting up at selected medical facilities across the state.

“Kogites, and indeed Nigerians, who are afflicted with kidney diseases will soon find respite in Kogi State from the scarcity and the prohibitive costs of such treatments”, he said.

The Governor reminded that he signed the Kogi State Health Insurance Agency Law in mid-2019 and have since inaugurated the Board adding that the health insurance scheme would enable the people to benefit from quality healthcare at minimal cost emphasing that for roughly the price of half a bag of rice, a subscriber to our Health Insurance Scheme can access critical medicare for a full year.

The governor also mentioned that the state has made made corresponding investments in the appropriate human resources to man every part of our health sector which included medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory scientists, health attendants alluding that In order to motivate the health workers the government recruited and enhanced their commitment to servicing the health needs of our people, pointing out that Kogi was one of the few states which has implemented the Revised CONMESS salary structure for medical workers.