•Rates Bori Zonal Hospital Upgrade High
By Emmanuel Abi Couson
Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured that his administration will not waver in its commitment to providing critical infrastructure required for the speedy development of the State.
Governor Fubara gave the assurance while speaking to newsmen shortly after he inspected the extent of reconstruction work done at the Zonal Hospital project at Bori Town, headquarters of Khana Local Government Area on Friday.
The Governor was accompanied on the inspection tour by the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, the State Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon Victor Kii, while the Chairman, Caretaker Committee of the Council, Amb Marvin Yobana was on ground to receive the Governor and his team.
Governor Fubara addressed the concerns expressed by well-meaning Rivers people over recent pronouncements of the court, and said there is no cause to worry because God has prepared him a table of blessings in the presence of his enemies.
He said: “I know that a lot of you will be wondering what is going on and all that. Government has its own challenges. If you go to the book of Psalm 23 verse 5, in the Bible, it said that God prepares a table before you; it can be before anybody. But there is an underlined word that should be noted there: it said ‘in the presence of your enemies’. So, it means that nothing comes easy.
“I want to assure everyone of you and the good people of Rivers State, that we are not deterred. We have made our promises, we will continue to give you good governance, no matter how difficult it is.
“But, like I said before, the worse is over. We are moving on to ensure that we continue to provide what is needed for the development of our State.”
Commenting on the project, Governor Fubara pointed to sectors like healthcare, education, and agriculture as top priority areas that his administration will not compromise attention, and will do everything possible to ensure optimal services can be accessed by the people.
He explained: “We are here today. I believe that from next week, we should be visiting Degema, Ahoada, Omoku, and also ensure that we visit the site of the Modern General and Psychiatric Hospitals in Rumuigbo to see the extent of work that is going on.
“But for now, we are satisfied with what we are seeing here. When we say: zonal hospital, this project is not just for the people of Khana. It is not just for the people of Gokana, even my own constituency, Opobo/Nkoro will also benefit from this facility.
“So, we are assuring the good people of this senatorial district that we will make sure that we put it into completion and good use,” he added.
Governor Fubara explained that his administration did not meet any functional Zonal Hospital, stressing that because it wanted quality healthcare facilities for the people, funds were released about a month ago for the reconstruction and expansion of four zonal hospitals.
The Governor expressed satisfaction that the contractors appeared really committed and had shown that they understand the dream and aspirations of his administration, and were aligning to help it fulfill promises to the people.
He emphasised: “You could remember that I did promise our people that one of the most important areas our budget for the year 2024 will focus on is healthcare, education and agriculture.
“As part of what we did promise our people in the year 2024, that all the Zonal Hospitals, we will do our best to ensure that they come up and are put to use, we are here to inspect the extent of work that is ongoing.
“When we met them (hospitals), their conditions were really bad. There was no accommodation for the medical officers, the doctors, the nurses, and we also added a mortuary to have a full package of what a hospital should be.”
The Governor assured that when completed and put to use, the facilities will meet the healthcare needs of the people within the catchment areas, and address key issues in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and policy objectives of his administration.
