President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, said Nigerian must stop dependence on medical treatment abroad.
Buhari who himself had travelled to the United Kingdom for treatment on several occasions, stated this during the inauguration and handover of completed projects at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki.
The President who was represented at the event by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, said Nigerians must stop traveling overseas for medical treatment.
“Nigerians have suffered so much going abroad for medical treatment. This is not good for us and it must stop because we can’t afford it again,” he said.
Buhari explained that the project at Alex Ekwueme Teaching Hospital was executed to check flooding and gully erosion in the hospital.
He lamented the devastating effects of flooding in the South-East geo-political zone, saying the intervention project would bring relief to the hospital, the state and its neighbours.
He said the siting of the project in Ebonyi State signalled an end to the era in the country where some parts of Nigeria were neglected as a result of corruption and favouritism. He stressed that the location of the project in major teaching hospitals across the country showed that no part of the country would be neglected again.
“We have paid very serious attention to the health of our people and will continue to do so. The projects you celebrate their completion today were seriously affecting the workings of this teaching hospital. But today, we can say their completion have started helping to improve on the performance and welfare of both the staff and patients of this hospital,” he said.
“I wish to use this medium to congratulate the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, and his team in the Ecological Fund Office; the project contractor, Messrs Amayaro Nigeria Limited, as well as the project consultant, Messrs Kanode and Associates Limited, for their commitment to ensuring timely and speedy completion of the project.”
