By Dennis Naku
The Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has said every effort at achieving development in any society will come to waste if the health of the people is not adequately factored into it.
The governor stated this, according to a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chulwudi, while he received a delegation of the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association led by its National President, Dr Uche Ojinmah, at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Fubara also confirmed the appointment of Prof Chizindu Alikor as the substantive Chief Medical Director of Rivers State University Teaching Hospital.
Fubara stated, “The governor and his team cannot succeed without your support. That is the truth, and any government that has the interest of its people at heart must pay adequate attention to the provision of quality healthcare services.
“Healthcare goes with development. That is the truth. Your workers need to be healthy to be productive. If you put everything in place and you don’t have good health, then your people will be under-productive.”
The governor explained that health facilities, particularly those that provide intermediary services were being rebuilt and strengthened, and zonal hospitals would be revived while the personnel are adequately being motivated because they are critical partners in government.
In his speech, the National President of the NMA, Ojinmah, disclosed that two years ago, he was in Port Harcourt to beg the Government then to promote medical workers, increase their salary, and pay them hazard allowances plus other incentives but was ignored.
He noted that Governor Fubara had, without prompting, attended to those concerns, including employing more personnel and rescuing the NMA secretariat from crumbling.
Also speaking, the state chairman of NMA, Dr Ebi Robinson, stated that the implementation of these welfare packages has motivated medical doctors and workers to put in their best to improve healthcare service delivery for the benefit of Rivers people.
