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… Urges Govt to Attend to Residents’ Health Needs
By Young E. Freeborn, Warri
Unenurhie community, Evwreni kingdom in Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State has called on the state government to give full attention to the health needs of residents as the community completes a part of “an abandoned cottage hospital.”
The completed section is to house the community’s health centre.
In a chat with our correspondent after a meeting of elders, chiefs and leaders in the community recently, Unenurhie’s president-general, Mr. Peter Maison, said, “My government inherited the cottage hospital as an abandoned project awarded by the Delta State government over six years ago.
“Again, the health centre which is the community’s only means of taking care of her health needs was in this our town hall since it was approved by the government over ten years ago. In fact, the health centre was in a very dilapidated situation when we came into the government. There were no active staff and no facilities to work with.
“This was badly affecting our people, especially mothers and their children. The little support we can give as a community to resuscitate it, I think we have done it. Yet, as a government we are not satisfied for a community health centre to perpetually remain in a town hall as the Delta State government is doing nothing tangible about it, even after we have launched series of complaints to the community health office at Ughelli and at the Delta State ministry of Health, Asaba.
“Secondly, the health centre being in the community town hall is usually disturbing us during our meetings. On many occasions, we had to move our community meetings to smaller halls or church auditoriums. Though, it’s not telling well of us as a community, but we are placed in this bad situation by the state government.”
The president-general, whom the community poured encomiums on his stewardship, said, “This uncomfortable situation with the health centre moved us to embark on work in the abandoned cottage hospital.
“In fact, the work on the cottage hospital was enormous and money consuming. We had no other choice than to source for money from individuals in the community and from other financial sources. We started the job and as we speak now, we have successfully moved the health centre from this town hall to the first part of the cottage hospital that we have completed with communal effort. The second part of the cottage hospital is still lying in waste as we have not enough money to complete the entire abandoned project.”
Vice president of Unenurhie community, Lagos branch, Mr. James Okparikpu, who was elated over the achievements so far recorded by the Peter Maison-led administration, said, “I want to thank the president-general, Mr Peter Maison and his cabinet for all the achievements so far recorded in his government. May God give them the strength to do more.
“On the issue of the health centre, I really want to blame the Delta State government for abandoning the project and the people for so long. Health and education always top the priority needs of every government. For an oil producing community like this, to be deprived of her heath needs by the same government that is sharing their natural gift as monthly allocations is bad of that government. Now, what the state government and the local government are supposed to do is what the community leadership is doing for the residents. Tomorrow, they will come as politicians to ask the people for their votes, yet the people are not benefiting anything from the government of the day. If Unenurhie community is part of the Delta State government and Ughelli North local government, then I’m appealing to them to come to the aid of the people in areas of health and education needs now.”
Another speaker during the event, the chairman of Unenurhie Elders Consultative Forum, Evang. James Ovwighose, asked the state government to compliment the efforts of the community by coming for inspection of the abandoned cottage hospital in order to complete the second half of the project since the community on her own had done the first half, which is at present housing the community’s health centre.
“In this situation, the Delta State government should come for immediate inspection of the said abandoned cottage hospital. This will enable them as government to know the pains and needs of the people with regard to health issues. Since the past ten years, the community health centre has been in this town hall, almost like a ghost because it has no health facilities and readily active staff. Yet, our political representatives at the state and national Assemblies and the government itself are singing everywhere of projects they have sited in different communities across their different constituencies. Is Unenurhie community not part of Delta State or Ughelli North Local Government Area again,” he asked.
The Warri-based business mogul thanked the president-general of the community for his foresight and his visionary leadership in terms of infrastructural development in different community based projects. He also appealed to the state government to give an award of excellence to the community for embarking on such an enormous health project without government support.
He however asked the president-general of the community to also give attention to the educational development of the community by giving scholarships to well deserving young people in the community to study law and medicine at the university, two of which are highly sought for professions in rural communities.