Yuletide: Onoja visits Our Lady of Hope clinic Okenyi, makes donations, pledges more support for the establishment »

Relief came the way of the management, staff and patients of Our Lady of Hope clinic, Okenyi in Ankpa local government area today as the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Chief Edward Onoja paid a visit to the facility in the spirit of the yuletide.

Sharing the same premises with the clinic is St. Patrick Nursary and Primary school and Pope John Paul Academy, all established by a well spirited leader from the community, Major General Patrick Amodu Akpa (RTD).

General Patrick Akpa said the facilities were established to bring both health care and education to the people of the area, and said since their establishments, both facilities have been providing basic services to the people at very affordable rates.

Matron of the clinic, Sister Elizabeth Obase said the clinic is the only functional one in the area which is helping to care for several sick patients. She however decried the low patronage by pregnant women saying that majority of them prefer to patronize local birth attendants.

She appealed to government to assist in the advocacy and to also deploy more doctors and nurses to the clinic to help her operation.

Similarly, at the primary and secondary school sections of the establishment, management said that the schools lacked adequate teachers to man the very few classes available in the school, and said that assistance is needed in the areas of infrastructure and staff remuneration.

Reacting, the Deputy Governor of Kogi State, Chief Edward Onoja praised Major General Patrick Akpa for having the foresight to establish such facilities that are providing services to the people. He said if every well to do individual in the state would give back to the society in such a way, it would go a long way to minimize the suffering of the poor.

The Deputy Governor said education and health tops the new direction agenda of Gov Yahaya Bello and assured of governments commitment to repositioning those sectors to serve the people better.

He also called on politically exposed individuals in Kogi East to channel their resources into service to humanity rather than wasting huge amounts of money to contest elections periodically.

He gave a personal financial support to both the clinic and the schools to enable them sort out staff remuneration and other administrative requirements, and pledged to connect with relevant authorities especially the national youth service corps (NYSC) to post more nurses and teachers to the facilities to aid effective administration.

The member representing Ankpa-Olamaboro in the Federal House of Representative, Hon. Abdullahi Halims who was in the entourage of the Deputy Governor offered to offset the medical bills of all the patients in the hospital.