By Henry Odeh
Following the deliberation by the Oyo state house of assembly at its last plenary on Tuesday on a motion sponsored by Hon. Olajide Akintunde otherwise known as AKT (Lagelu) and co-spobsored by Hon. E. O. Adeola (Iseyin/Itesiwaju state), on a bill titled “Urgent Need For Community And Healthcare Reformation In Oyo State” the house has raised an alarm over the deplorable state of primary healthcare in the state describing it as being “in a state of comatos.”
The house had during its last plenary deliberated extensively on the state of health sector in Oyo state and the appalling state of primary healthcare which has been adjuged as one of the pillars of the present administration.
The house further expressed serious concern and disappointment in the way and manner budgetary allocations to this sector for many years under the last administration has woefully failed to yield any known or physical result that expected to meet the yearnings of the people of Oyo state. It wondered how the sector continued to get allocations all years but has nothing to show for it.
Hon. Akintunde (AKT) while having a media chat with Sunrise Bulletin correspondent yesterday in his office at the house of assembly complex, Ibadan, voiced his displeasure on the poor state of the sector in the state particularly in Lagelu local government, he described the inherited primary healthcare situation as a shame and utterly unacceptable in a 21st century adding that appropriated funds to the the sector over the years was either poorly managed or got into wrong hands leaving the deplorable situation in the sector at its peak.
He stated that one of his unscheduled visits to a primary healthcare centre at his constituency afforded him the opportunity to see the level of rot and decay in the sector adding that during the visit, it was gathered that no single drug was available at the health care centre for medication, the work environment was extremely poor for health workers, noting that a medical environment that is not even condusive for health workers to work can not be good for treatment of sick persons.
He stated further that even though government is continum, the liability inherited by the present administration far outweighs the assets adding that the situation is despicable, deplorable, uncharitable, and totally unacceptable.
He therefore, called on governor Seyi Makinde to declare a state of emergency on the sector to enable the present administration to tackle the bogus challenges wholistically. He added that governor Seyi Makinde in its proactiveness has designated a respected expert to the health ministry and believed that with conserted efforts and commitments by all stakeholders to revive the ailing sector, practical results will be attained in no distant future.
