Commissioner: Niger Spends N4B on Health Services in Three Years

Laleye Dipo in Minna

The Niger State government says it has spent about N4 billion on the provision of health services to the people since the inception of the administration over three years ago.

The government also disclosed that it had employed over 1,000 health workers to close the gap of inadequate manpower in the health sector.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Mustapha Jibril, disclosed this in Minna at the weekend, while exchanging views with a Media Strategy and Communication Committee, which paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
He said over 1,500 health facilities inherited from the last administration were undergoing renovation, rehabilitation, and remodeling, adding that some of the facilities were also being upgraded.

He said: “The political will, passion for health, coupled with unscheduled visits to health institutions by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello, has made it possible for Niger State to secure a N1.5 billion health grant from donor agencies.

“The current government had made healthcare delivery a top priority. The administration would continue to source for funds to enable it execute all its programmes and projects so that we can take healthcare services to the door steps of everybody.”

Jibrin explained that government had embarked on training and retraining of workers in Nigeria and abroad to improve their productivity, noting that the state now has 20 medical consultants and specialists, thereby reducing cases of patients being referred to other health institutions.

He hinted that Niger State doctors, nurses and other health workers earned same salaries with their federal government counterparts due to the 100 per cent implementation of CONTISS salary structure for health workers by the government.

According to him, the present government has spent millions of naira as medical assistance to many Nigerlites, while about 486 people has benefitted from seed money of N15 million and N20 million respectively to provide health services to the people free of charge.

He stated that the full accreditation of Nursing School Bida after 40 years, School of Midwifery Minna and the establishment and accreditation of College of Health Sciences, Kontagora, would go a long way to provide health services to the people of the state.