The Minister of State for Health, Dr. (Senator) Adeleke Olorunimbe Mamora has lauded the giant strides the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has made in various sectors of development in the state in spite of the nation’s economic, security and public health challenges, stressing that “His Excellency has done well”.
Mamora who spoke when he paid a courtesy call on the governor at the Government House, Enugu, described the governor as “a calm gentleman” who has brought his attribute of calmness to governance in Enugu State.
In the meantime, the Africa Housing Awards, yesterday in Abuja, conferred Gov. Ugwuanyi with the “Housing Friendly Governor of the Year” award in recognition of his administration’s unprecedented achievements in delivering quality and affordable housing schemes for the high, medium and low income earners in the state.
The African Housing Awards which also honoured the General Manager and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Enugu State Housing Development Corporation, Hon. Chukwuemelie Agu as the “CEO of Housing Corporation of the Year”, is a subsidiary of Abuja International Housing Show – the largest housing and construction show in Africa with over 35,000 participants all over the world, over 15 participating countries and more than 400 exhibitors.
The Health Minister and his team were in Enugu on oversight and supervisory visits to Federal Ministry of Health agencies and establishments in the state particularly the National Orthopedic Hospital Enugu (NOHE) where a number of newly completed infrastructure and installed facilities would be inaugurated.
Dr. Mamora thanked Gov. Ugwuanyi who was represented by his deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo for the state government’s support to the management of NOHE, stressing that “the partnership, cooperation, and collaboration that exist between the National Orthopedic Hospital Enugu and the Enugu State government” are commendable.
According to him, “I thank you (Ugwuanyi) for that because that is the way it should be for the good of our people; working towards the same goal.
“I am not unaware of the giant strides the administration of Governor Ugwuanyi has made in this state. We may not come from the same party. But it is about good governance and what you can offer the people at the end of the day.
“His Excellency (Ugwuanyi) has done well. I need to put that on record. My prayer is that the state government will continue to support the National Orthopedic Hospital here in Enugu.
“Your Excellency, be rest assured that we will continue to collaborate with you; we will continue to partner with you, that is the state government in terms of providing services, medicare services, healthcare services to our people because our focus, our goal whether at the federal or at the state level remains the good of our people in terms of their welfare particularly their healthcare needs”.
Responding, Gov. Ugwuanyi who welcomed the Minister and his team to Enugu noted that their visit to the state was timely in view of the fundamental challenges arising from the seemingly rampaging Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic and other developing healthcare issues.
The governor told the Minister that the Enugu State government, just a day before the visit, flagged off the mass vaccination campaign against the pandemic with a target to get 50 percent of the eligible population of the state vaccinated by February 2022, stressing that the state government is leaving no stone unturned to achieve the target.
He appreciated the management of NOHE for the remarkable achievements the federal establishment has recorded in recent times in terms of physical development and growth as well as notable attainments in medical research and management of diseases, provision of core medical services and general community services.
The governor equally lauded the modest contributions of the agencies and formations of the Federal Ministry of Health in the state “in the continuing improvement of our people’s access to quality hospital and medical services”.