By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja
KOGI State House of Assembly has called on the State Government to renovate and upgrade the Abejukolo General Hospital to a Specialist Hospital to enable it cope with the increasing medical demands of patients its coverage area.
The House made the call in a resolution issued at Plenary in Lokoja following the adoption of a motion by Hon. Umar Yahaya (APC-Omala) calling on the state government to make the facility more functional.
Drumming support for the motion from his colleagues, the Legislator said the hospital started as a cottage Hospital before it was converted and registered as General Hospital in April, 1994. had gone moribund.
He said that the hospital was operating 24-hour, providing paediatric services, surgical, clinical, obstetrics and gynaecology, dental and onsite laboratory services among others before it went moribund.
The lawmaker noted that the hospital, which remains the only provider of all medical services for the entire people of Omala Local Government Area had been neglected by the relevant authorities.
He said that the hospital presently has only one medical doctor who is being overworked aside lacking personnel and equipments adding that the situation had led to increased birth related complications and deaths.
He identified other issues as exposure of patients to quacks, patronage of drug vendors and unauthorized drugs outlets, proliferation of private medical outlets with exorbitant charges among other unorthodox practices Ieading to further rise in health complications and deaths.
Yahaya said that the anomalies coupled with increasing death of accident victims due mostly to failure of the Hospital to effectively carryout emergency services had compelled Omala people and travellers to look up to the Assembly for rescue them.
“This situation has significantly hampered economic development and the Ievel of material comfort in terms of goods and services available to the people of Omala Local Government Area of our dear State”, he said.
Hon. Yahaya therefore implored the House to direct the State Ministry of Health to undertake a facility tour of the hospital to ascertain its general state and determine necessary remedy to restore medical services to the people.
He also urged the state government to upgrade the facility to a Specialist Hospital and make budgetary provisions in the 2024 Appropriation Bill for the upgrade in view of the hospital’s wide coverage area.
Earlier in a Motion of Urgent Public Importance, the House urged the state government to direct Kogi State Road Maintenance Agency (KOGROMA) to urgently attend to Idah-Oforachi-Odolu road, a portion of which has been cut off.
In the motion, Hon. Major Enefola (APC-Igalamela-Odolu) said the road was incomplete dilapidation and a portion at Oforachi was no longer motorable adding that it took the youths to create a diversion through the bush as a temporary alternative.
The motion was seconded by Lawal Akus (APC-Ankpa I) who urged that something be urgently done to make the road motorable in view of the on-going APC electioneering campaigns for the state governorship election.
Speaker of the House, Rt Hon. Aliyu Umar Yusuf adopted the motions following majority voice votes in their favour.
