Health of Kogi People My Priority – Gov Bello

By Sam Egwu 

Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, has said that the health and wellbeing of the people of the state would remain one of the topmost priorities of his government.

Bello disclosed this at the official inauguration of Maimunat and Usman Yahaya Foundation Hospital, a community based private full fledged hospital in Ankpa on Saturday.

The governor, represented by his special adviser on Health, Dr Ahmed Attah, said a healthy nation was a wealthy one and against that backdrop, his government was committed to ensuring that public health facilities in the state were adequately catered for.

He congratulated the people of Ankpa local government area for the establishment of the hospital saying that he was particularly happy that it would aid the government’s resolve to minimise the maternal and neonatal mortality rate in the area.

Bello, pledged government support to the hospital in the areas of manpower, drugs and consumables and urged the management to avail itself of the opportunities provided under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Speaking earlier, Alhaji Abubakar Usman Yahaya, founder and chairman of the Maimuna and Usman Yahaya Foundation Hospital said the 16-bed capacity hospital was a demonstration of his service to humanity and giving back to the society.

Yahaya said it would be better to affect and touch lives through positive interventions in areas of societal needs rather than amassing wealth in aggrandisement which was all vanity.

“This will also arrest the syndrome of patients patronising quack doctors as a result of lack of money to access proper diagnosis and treatment.”

Yahaya whose mother, Hajia Maimunat, died a week to the inauguration of the hospital said, “In the rural areas, a sick person may refuse to go to the hospital because of as little as N1, 000 or N2, 000 that he cannot afford.

“We have taken cognizance of the high rate of health charges in most private hospitals. So, this will serve as alternative. Here we are giving opportunity for them to access quality health services without restraint.

“Our nurses and doctors are under instruction not to reject any patient on account of money but to save life first. Presently, we have two medical doctors, a matron and 24 nurses.

Members of Kogi House of Assembly, government functionaries, traditional rulers and people from all walks of life and indigenes of Ankpa LGA graced the occasion.