•••Says all Equipment Were Fully Paid for and Intact
The Concessionaire of the Bayelsa Diagnostic Centre, Trigen-Craton Ltd, have exonerated former Governor of the State, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, of allegations by an amorphous group that he established the world class medical facility with the intent to destroy it at the end of his administration.
The Operations Manager of Trigen-Craton Ltd, Malcom Okiebai said in a statement on Tuesday that there was no iota of truth in the allegations involving the equipment at the Centre.
Okiebai said all the equipment procured by the state government under The administration of Senator Dickson are in good condition and safe.
He called on the public to discountenance the claim that equipment worth billions of Naira were taken away from the Centre.
At inception in 2016, Concessionaire was given the mandate to maintain the world class equipment, provide international skilled personnel for the Centre with the task of managing it.
Okiebai recalled that the the terms of the concession was that sixty percent (60%) of the profit, was meant for the firm once the center became profitable to provide effective running of the outfit.
He stated further that “Thirty percent (30%) would go to the Bayelsa State government and ten percent (10%) in a joint account for routine maintenance and repairs. “
He said, “We wish to state for emphasis that “All equipment purchased by the state government are safe and intact; that all the equipment purchased were fully paid for even before the commissioning and commencement of operations and are still top class equipment several years after their purchase
“In fact most of the equipment purchased were the first of its kind in Nigeria at the time.
“We understand the public interest that the center be reopened in bayelsa and across the country as a reputable diagnostic center with partners abroad. We state that as soon as the outstanding issues are sorted out, we hope to resume operations.
“Lastly, we call on general public to ignore the falsehood being peddled by mischievous and faceless characters about the diagnostic center.”
The firms operational manager explained that the Centre was shut down because it could not get subventions from the State Government to sustain the services to the public
He stressed that the initial arrangement between the Government and the firm ran into hitches as the centre could not generate enough funds to cover the huge cost of operations.
“We employed and trained staff, most of whom are Bayelsans and Ijaws, locally and abroad.
“The Center became a place of medical tourism and during this period, we received no subvention or support funds from the Government of Bayelsa State. This took a heavy toll on us as the center in the first few years could not become profitable and as such the profit sharing term could not apply.
“We ran the center from August 2016 to May 5th 2020 at our own cost, as the revenues could not sustain the running cost of the facility, especially the high cost of maintaining power non-stop, as the sensitive equipment require 24-hour constant electricity.
“Providing constant power, training of skilled personnel and maintaining the facility since 2016 had taken a huge toll on our personal finances and we made a request to the former governor for support, in the form of the running cost, until the center became profitable, a development not anticipated in the original concession agreement.
“The original concession agreement assumed that the center would be profitable on start of operation; however we did not take into consideration that, like every other business, the centre needed time to stabilize and become profitable. Realizing this, we made a case to the former governor who encouraged us to continue, and that the expenses we would incur would be reimbursed.
“The former governor directed a team led by the former SSG and Attorney General of the state to review the concession agreement and accommodate the unforeseen development.
“The former governor had insisted that provision of health services is primarily a social service before it is a business and therefore directed that the agreement be reworked to accommodate the new development and that government will reimburse the running cost and expenses. The team was also directed to verify our claims of expenses and recommend the amount due to us as outstanding.
Based on the above assurances and the steps initiated by the state government, we continued to run the place, even with the new government.
“This was the situation before the gubernatorial elections that brought in the present administration.
“However, about the 5th of May, with covid-19 pandemic going out of control and government and companies grappling with the Covid-economy, we had course to downscale our operations in other to prevent mass infection and the resultant reputational damage.
“By the 5th of May, it was clear the Center could no longer remain open because it had become the first port of call for Bayelsans as it concerned diagnosis and the Concessionaire, not having full grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, as no one all over the world had as that time; had no other option but to close its doors in order to avoid mass casualty.
@The Center went into alternate day operations from April 2020, due to huge operational costs, including but not limited to provision of alternate power supply, in this case diesel to power multiple generator sets.” He added
He explained further that the State Governor, Senator Douye Diri led a team of Government officials comprising the Commissioner for Health with his team, the VC of the Bayelsa Medical University as well as the press to inspect the facility and was impressed by the fantastic state and quality of the equipment contrary to the disturbing rumour at the time.
“His Excellency, Gov. Douye Diri stated his intentions to get the Center reopened and called for a steering committee with a mandate to reopen The Center whilst audits are being carried out under the chairmanship of Hon. Peter Akpe, Deputy Chief of Staff to Bayelsa State Governor with the commissioner for health.
“His Excellency, Gov. Douye Diri later appointed His Excellency, The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo as chairman of the steering committee to continue the process. He has since held several meetings with the steering committee, comprising of the Concessionaire and the Bayelsa State Government Representatives where a proposal has been agreed upon by all parties and the said proposal is currently awaiting the governor’s approval.
“We as concessionaires demanded that in order for the Center to be reopened, it was important that a full Joint Stocktaking be carried out by the committee which included representatives of the Bayelsa State Government and the Concessionaire in order to ascertain the status of the equipment at the center which has since been done. “
