Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to make Edo State a medical tourism destination in the country.
This was as he received the Chairman and members of the Hospital Management Board, who paid him a courtesy visit yesterday at The Government House in Benin.
Obaseki, who was represented by his deputy, Comrade Philip Shaibu noted that his administration was not only interested in promoting industrialisation, but also had plans to make the state a medical tourism destination.
He added that this could only be achieved with vibrant personnel that can make use of the equipment in the 5-star hospital built by the state government.
Meanwhile, he advised that the problems highlighted by the board should be catalogued so that the problems facing the state-owned hospital would be tackled one after the other in order to enable the administration to achieve its goal of making the state a medical tourism destination in the country.
“It cannot be medical tourism if the issues you have raised are not addressed. We are already aware of some of them, and I assure you that all the others will also be addressed”, he said.
Speaking further, Hon. Shaibu said Edo state is strategically located and it would not be out of place to have all the state’s health facilities in working order noting that Edo people voted for continuity and consolidation, and the governor is ready to transform the state.
However, he revealed that a closed-door interactive session with the board members was necessary, as their opinion would be of additional use beyond the catalogue of problems listed yesterday.
He said, “We will also like to have your opinions on the fastest ways to resolve these issues. We must do what we want to do now. We have made up our minds and Mr. Governor has consistently driven us towards that process, we want to walk the talk and talk less; let the work speak for itself”.
For his part, the Chairman of the Hospital Management board, Professor E. Amadasun said that since its inception on August 4, 2014, the board has been facing teething problems, which only the government is in the best position to solve.
He said the challenges are in three categories namely depletion of personnel; finance; and infrastructure and facilities for the board to supervise the 34 hospitals in Edo state.
Professor Amadasun also said the challenges were burdening the board and the asked for the government’s intervention to salvage the situation and restore the dignity in the sector in order to create a better environment for the board to continue with its overseeing function and improve service delivery.
