News Investigators/ Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said that his administration remains committed to fully functionalising all the 948 primary healthcare centres (PHCs) across the state, with emphasis on quality standards and sustainability.
Mr Otti made the pledge on Friday night during a monthly media chat with newsmen at the Government House, Umuahia.
He said that although 200 PHCs had been completed, they would not be inaugurated until they had been properly equipped and adequately staffed.
He explained that the focus was not only on infrastructure, “but on delivering functional health services to residents”.
The governor said: “In the area of healthcare, we continue to functionalise the primary healthcare centers.
“The 200 of them that we have completed, we are taking our time to ensure that minimum standards are met.
“So, what we do is that the primary healthcare center is ready. It does not mean it will be inaugurated.
“It will only be inaugurated when we have the required equipment and healthcare professionals.”
Mr Otti said the State Government had approved the recruitment of 771 healthcare professionals but pointed out that only 569 could be engaged due to manpower constraints.
“That has meant that we are not able to meet the needs of all the primary healthcare centres that we have completed,” he said.
He disclosed that he had directed that the recruitment portal remained open to attract more qualified personnel.
“We have asked those interested to continue to apply until we get to the required number,” he said.
The governor said that he had approved the commencement of the Phase II of the PHC upgrade, tagged “Project Ekwueme”, which would cover another 200 centres.
“We have promised that we will not stop until the 948 primary healthcare centers have been touched,” he said.
Mr Otti said that 77 PHCs had already been retrofitted with support from the World Bank, adding that efforts were also ongoing to ensure proper maintenance of the facilities.
On service delivery, he said the state had begun to digitalise operations in PHCs and introducing telemedicine to enhance access to care.
“A doctor can sit in Umuahia and look at your case, prescribe medication and provide solutions without necessarily sitting across the table with you,” he said.
Mr Otti said that the overall goal was to ensure that every community in the state had access to a modern and fully functional primary healthcare centre.
He said that the state was recording significant progress at the tertiary healthcare level, with several health facilities undergoing extensive upgrades.
According to him, about six general hospitals are being retrofitted, alongside the construction of a new general hospital in Ukwa East, expected to be completed before the end of the year.
Mr Otti also said that major works were ongoing at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, Aba, Abia State Specialist Hospital, Amachara and the General Hospital, Umunneato.
“The work going on in these hospitals is very extensive. We are taking it in our stride, and I can assure you it is progressing very well,” he said.
He further said that the State Government had received its first Magnetic Resonance Imaging machine (MRI), donated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Abia never had an MRI machine before now and we are grateful to the Church for ,donating a state-of-the-art MRI, valued at about one million dollars,” he said.
“We are setting up a diagnostic centre at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital, where the MRI and other equipment, like X-rays, will be installed,” he said.
On education and power, Otti said that electricity had been restored to Abia State University, Uturu, after more than a decade of outage.
“We inaugurated and switched on a 5MW substation, and now anytime there is power, the university will have electricity,” he said.
He said that the state had also approved a 15MWV independent power project to further strengthen electricity supply.
“By the time it is completed, the university may decide to detach from the national grid,” Otti said.
He also said that efforts were ongoing to extend electricity to more communities, particularly in Ukwa East, through Aba Power Limited.
In the culture and tourism sector, he said that the state had partnered the Federal Government to rehabilitate the Ojukwu Bunker and National War Museum both in Umuahia.
He described the initiative as a major step in preserving the nation’s history and boosting tourism in Abia.
He said the state’s development agencies – Greater Aba Development Agency, Greater Ohafia Development Agency and Umuahia Capital Development Agency – were performing well in transforming the state.
On hospitality, Mr Otti said that the reconstruction of the Enyimba Hotel, in partnership with Radisson Blu, was progressing steadily.
“We expect that within 12 months, the first phase of about 120 rooms will be ready for public use,” he said.
He also said that discussions were ongoing with another five-star hotel brand to convert the Government House at Ogurube Layout into a hospitality facility.
Mr Otti confirmed that the Government House would remain at its present location on the Akan Ibiam/Library Avenue, Umuahia, adding that it was an ideal location for it.
“The Government House is not moving from here. So, since it’s not moving, we decided to hand over the other building to a five-star hotel brand .
The governor said that work was nearing completion at the Umuahia Central Bus Terminal, with plans to commence pilot operations soon.
“The entire place is being cleaned up now. And by the time it’s done, we will start pilot activities and eventually inaugurate it,” he said.
On aviation, he said that the construction of the Abia International Airport runway was progressing smoothly.
“This is a partnership with the Federal Government, while we are building the runway, the Federal Government is responsible for the terminal,” he said.
Mr Otti also said that the Nigerian Air Force had been allocated 200 hectares of land for the construction of a training school and base within the airport.
In agriculture, he said that Presco Plc had committed 200 million dollars to oil palm cultivation and processing across 40,000 hectares in the state.
He said that Abia was selected for the second phase of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone programme supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
“The land has been identified and the project will commence soon,” the governor said.
He further said that work was progressing on the Abia Innovation and Industrial Park (AIIP), describing it as a long-term project, involving multiple sectors.
He said that all the partners that indicated interest in AIIP and in partnering with the State Government on the project were still very serious.
“Some of them have gotten to the level of final investment decisions and we are very enthusiastic about having the AIIB properly kick off.
“But don’t forget that it’s a long term project, involving modular refinery, renewable energy, gas projects, fertilizer projects, chemicals, and so on.
“So, it’s an integrated innovation and industrial park,” Otti said.
On infrastructure, he reiterated the commitment of the State Government to continue implementing its rebuilding agenda.
He said that over 50 infrastructural projects were ongoing across the state, while discussions were in top gear to kickstart the Abia State Integrated Development Programme (ABSID).
“Just two days ago, we had a meeting with the AfDB, Federal Ministry of Finance and IsDB for ABSID.
“A few of the nutty areas, we tried to untie them with the last meeting we had and, hopefully, I had given a deadline of April for us to kickstart that multimillion dollar project.
“The projects involve a lot of roads and other infrastructural projects,” Otti said.
The governor further referenced the recent inauguration of a privately-owned 35 million dollar beverage plant in Aba, adding that additional investment phases by the organisers were already underway.
He expressed the resolve of the State Government to support ventures that boost job creation and GDP growth as well as significantly reduce poverty in society.
NAN
