… as Duke congratulates governor-elect
Apparently felt dissatisfied with the dearth of staff in the Primary Health Care centres in rural areas, a health worker and matron in charge of Utoka Primary Health Care Centre in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, Mrs. Eunice Amubeke Omorodion, weekend, regretted the shortage of health personnel in her office.
She therefore called on both the state and local governments to work out modalities to address the trend, saying the deplorable road infrastructure has remained a bane of development of the health sector in the locality.
Mrs. Omorodion made her dissatisfaction known while fielding questions from the Nigerian Observer reporters in her office.
She said her 18 years in the primary healthcare centre has been characterised by various challenges ranging from shortage of health personnel, lack of toilet facilities, lack of potable water, lack of staff quarters and lack of electricity, insisting that the solar energy system in the health centre was done at her expense.
She said being the only technical staff she had to personally employ three persons who assist in cleaning and maintaining the centre for befitting use to achieve ultimum results in the area of service delivery to the people.
The matron, who commended the duke and village head, His Royal Highness, Airomwanbor Ogiemwonyi, the Enogie of Utoka for his kind disposition, said the Enogie and his community elders had remained pillars of support to the health centre in various ways.
Recently, the Enogie and elders provided the required logistics for a successful take off of the recent measles campaign to areas within the locality, she said, saying their major challenge is the bad road that stretches from Egor Market across the Utoka village down to Ekenhuan Road.
She noted that about 28 communities are around the locality and that if it rained, it takes three to five days to access the said road.
She appealed to the outgoing government of Godwin Obaseki to collaborate with the council chairman of Ovia North East Local Government Area to give palliative measures on the road to save lives and boost the economy of the locality, since the indigenous people of the areas are predominant farmers.
She maintained that the only government’s presence in the health centre was during the period of late Hon. Presley Ediagbonya, as the chairman of Ovia North East Local Government Council, insisting nothing has been done since he left office.
In a related development, the Enogie in council of Utoka dukedom, while corroborating the matron, said the bad road has cut his village from the city centre, pointing out that all the entreaties he put in place to draw the attention of both His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki and the council boss, did not yield the desired results despite several letters written in that regard.
HRH Airomwanbor Ogiemwonyi, however, appealed to Governor Obaseki to come to their rescue just as he had congratulated the governor-elect Senator Monday Okpebholo and his deputy, Rt. Hon. Dennis Idahosa, on their victory in the just concluded governorship election in the state.
He described their victory as divine, the voice of the people and total commitment of progressive ideologies to the people, saying as consummate politicians who know the hues and cries of the people would remain a reference point in governance, maintaining that the duo of Sen. Okpebholo and Rt. Hon. Idahosa are round pegs in round holes, especially in view of their status as tested and trusted politicians whose unwavering responsibilities had impacted on the people positively.
Enogie Ogiemwonyi assured of his continuous support to enable them succeed in the tasks ahead, just as he had appealed to governor-elect, Sen. Okpebholo, to give priority attention to the deplorable road that had hampered economic and socio-cultural growth in the locality.
