- Obaseki calls for vigilance, pledges better healthcare
Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-City
Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has said his opponents in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have already admitted that the state is working, and that they are bound for defeat in the September 28governorship election as there was no need to return to the dark past when nothing worked in the state.
Speaking during an inspection of work going on at the New Era School Model School in Benin City, Oshiomhole said the college is by far the most beautiful public secondary school in the South-south region of the country.
He said: “I’m glad that even our opponents have to concede that the state is working and the task of taking it to the next level is on and it is sustained. Which is why we have no apology when we say to our opponent the choice in the election that is coming is between consolidating projects such as this and building more of these projects in different parts of the state or returning to the dark era where everybody was buffeted with excuses, and I believe our people are wiser now and they will not want anybody to put the gear lever on the reverse.
“It is a continuation of what we call, ‘eye mark’. Better to see it than to hear of it. Better to get it done than to promise to do it and I’m happy it came out very well. I believe this is more beautiful than Imaguero College and it s perhaps the most beautiful public school in the entire South-South region. As you can see, the concept is totally different and I’m happy we have fulfilled our promise that we were going to put a facility here that will excite not just the children but the entire community.
“I’m impressed with the quality of work but it’s just a continuation of and what I like to call ‘APC’ standard or Oshio baba standard. We can’t give our people less than the very best because our people are the very best and they deserve the very best.
“The only thing is to encourage the contractor to rush to finish the remaining portion of the work. The Senior Secondary School is almost done and then, of course, to accelerate work on the Junior Secondary School. This is meant to be a very high profile model school which should compensate for the way in which previous government’s completely neglected the New Era College.”
New Era College, which had been abandoned by past governments now has modern classrooms, with a courtyard, air-conditioned staff rooms, a centrally air-conditioned hall which can sit 2,000 people, ICT centre, science laboratory, a library and gives a complimentary view to the equally newly dualised Upper-Mission road and the road extension done by the Oshiomhole administration.
Meanwhile, with increasing reports of Lassa fever cases across the country, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the September 28 state gubernatorial election, Godwin Obaseki, has charged health officials in the state to strengthen epidemiology surveillance and response in order to curtail the spread of the disease while promising to boost healthcare facilities for improved service delivery when elected governor.
Obaseki made the charge when he received a group of young medical students who paid him a courtesy visit in Benin City.
In his address to the students, he noted that boosting education and improving healthcare delivery in the state are a critical part of his prosperity agenda for Edo people.
On the topical public health issue of Lassa fever, Obaseki said: “Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital is one of only two hospitals in Nigeria with functional laboratories for testing and confirmation of Lassa fever disease, and we must leverage on the institution’s expertise to ensure adequate state-wide response in case of an outbreak.
“We must not wait till there is an epidemic in the state before we take action. With the rising cases of Lassa fever across the country – including neighbouring Delta State – health institutions in the state must remain vigilant, and increase epidemiology surveillance and response so as to prevent an outbreak. We – the people-must also pay more attention to sanitising our environment and keeping our homes and communities clean. Improved personal hygiene will also go a long way in keeping our families safe and in good health.”
The APC standard bearer acknowledged the remarkable efforts of the current administration in revitalising healthcare institutions in the state while promising: “Our administration will continue the good works of Oshiomhole by ensuring that our hospitals are equipped with modern health care facilities and staffed with sufficient and well trained care givers for better service delivery.”
Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness of 2-21 days duration that occurs in West Africa. The Lassa virus is transmitted to humans via contact with food or household items contaminated with rodent urine or faeces. Person-to-person infections and laboratory transmission can also occur, particularly in hospitals lacking adequate infection prevent and control measures.
Update on the World Health Organisation (WHO) website showed that between August 2015 and 17 May 2016, WHO has been notified of 273 cases of Lassa fever, including 149 deaths in Nigeria. Of these, 165 cases and 89 deaths have been confirmed through laboratory testing. The cases were reported from 23 states, including Anambra and Delta States, which lost two medical doctors to the disease just two weeks ago.
Early supportive care with rehydration and symptomatic treatment improves survival.
