This administration has lost its direction in handling issues of public importance__ Tolagbe Alege
By: Elesin Zainab
The former commissioner for health in kwara state- Suleiman Alege said there were three ventilators in kwara state before the Advent of the present government. He said the project was conceive during the military regime under Africa Bank Development Project and it was later abadoned but Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki developed the idea immediately on assumption to office.
Alege said the governor realized it would be best to Carry the governors of the North Central States of kogi and Niger along because of their proximity to the state but unfortunately the governors of the neighbouring States lost interest along the line and the situation naturally dropped the responsibility on Dr. Abubakar Saraki’s lap as a certified medical doctor.
Dr. Abubakar Saraki took it upon himself and did the only whole thing entirely from the meagre resources of the kwara state government and additional support of Africa Bank Development Project. After the commissioning in 2004, the plant was working fine and perfect for years, supplying state and private hospitals even the teaching hospitals and states like Niger, Kogi, Oyo and osun.
In 2011,the machine developed a fault of heat exchanger and the then governor,Gov, Abdulfatai Ahmed brought engineers to fix the issue of mechanical fault, then around 2016, Gov. Ahmed administration engaged another top ten Nigeria consultant to work on the plant and keep it working and around 2017, the molecular sieve and the and the purity level also developed fault and he was advised to look for it which was an imported material.
However, the company has subsisting agreement till September 2020 but the present administration did not call for verification and dialogue before moving to the ramping that was why they are not privy to the facts on ground.
In response to the former commissioner of health,Mr. Suleiman Alege claims, the chief press secretary to the governor, Mr. Rafiu Ajakaye said if what Alege said is true that they procured two ventilators, then somebody in their team made away with the ventilators or they released the money and it was never bought because and that he might be needed to provide proof of such.
Ajakaye therefore stated that Mr. Alege will be needed in assisting the security agencies, especially the EFCC to retrieve those ventilators because they are the properties of the people of kwara state as it is a serious matter and that the equipments are needed to strengthen the health system at this time.
Mr Alege reacts to the response of the chief press secretary by saying that the present administration has rendered government to nothing using state apparatus to hoodwink the citizens of the state to silence every voice of reason and that the government has lost its direction on the ways to handle issues of public importance.
Alege Said that further investigation revealed that the state government under the last administration prioritize the procurement of more oxygen concentrators in order to service many hospitals since the ventilators are key in intensive care unit(ICU) and that findings revealed that all other medical equipments were procured, only ventilators was stepped down for the reason stated above.
Mr. Alege therefore said,as the former commissioner of health in kwara state, he has given an account of what he knows about the medical facilities in the last administration and he still stands by it.
Oluwatoyin Luqman Bolakale is a graduate of Telecommunications Science, A Certified and etch network security specialist from International cyber security institute and specialised in Network security, mobile and wireless communications, He is a community developer and An Online Media Practioner currently the CEO/Publisher of Satcom Media