Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has granted express approval to the Governing Boards of Kogi State Hospitals Management Board (KSHMB) and Kogi Specialist Hospital, Lokoja (KSSH) to employ more doctors.
Dr. Haruna Saka, Kogi Commissioner for Health, disclosed this on Friday in Lokoja while reacting to the exit of some doctors from the state’s civil service over the past three years.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) on Monday called on the governor to reverse the ‘current internal drift’ of doctors and other healthcare workers in the state.
The Kogi NMA Chairman, Dr. Kabiru Zubair, said over 88 medical doctors had left the state public service under the current administration.
The commissioner, however, said that the doctors left because they secured Post Graduate training in Federal Government’s teaching hospitals, adding that the bulk of them were those recently employed by the state.
“Majority of them had passed the primary examination of the National Postgraduate Medical College and West African Postgraduate College.
“So ab initio, we never expected them to stay for long before commencing their training.
“It has been a recurring trend to see doctors leave state public service once federal government opportunity presents itself such as lift of ban on employment of resident doctors.
“Doctors who have the intention of undergoing postgraduate training usually migrate towards federal service because till date, only very few states have the capacity to train resident doctors.
“To make working condition conducive for doctors in Kogi, the government has taken further measures by giving approval to the state specialist hospital to commence internship training for doctors.
“The specialist hospital will also acquire the capacity to train Resident Doctors with immediate effect,” Saka said.
The commissioner added that the governor had also approved welfare packages for new doctors, including interest-free loan facilities to help them acclimatize when they come in.
He further said that the governor had approved an arrangement for doctors in federal institutions in Kogi to also provide services in state health facilities that were understaffed.
The police in Niger have arrested six persons suspected to have been involved in the stoning of Gov. Abubakar Bello in Bida town on Thursday, March 8.
Mr Dibal Yakadi, the Commissioner of Police in Niger, confirmed the arrests in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Minna on Wednesday.
Bello had gone to assess the damage on Bida Old Market, which was burnt on March 1 and to sympathise with traders affected by the incident.
On the occasion, some youths booed the governor and pelted his official vehicle with stones.
The night fire destroyed 900 shops and the governor donated N20 million to the fire victims to help lessen their pains.
Yakadi said the police had commenced an investigation to establish those who sponsored the action.
”As soon as we finished our investigation the suspects will be charged to court,” he said.
Yakadi said the command would not tolerate any act capable of disturbing the peace of the state and warned the people, especially the youth, to desist from all forms of political violence and thuggery.
The commissioner charged the youth not to allow themselves to be used as agents of destruction as anyone caught would be made to face the law.
” We will ensure diligent prosecutions of all those involved so as to serve as a lesson for others who are thinking in the same direction,” he said.
Yakadi said the command had already taken proactive security measures to deal with any form of security threat to peace in the state.
Less than 48 hours after the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, declared that Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi may be prosecuted at the end of his tenure, his name has disappeared from the voters’ register.
INEC said it was concerned that Bello’s name has now been delisted, but that it had a photograph showing how he was registered at the Government House, Lokoja.
INEC said the name was not officially removed and had vowed to find out how the name disappeared and whether its staff were bribed or threatened to remove it after it raised alarm of double registration.
Confirming the INEC Chairman’s position that the Governor was under probe, a top official at the body said, the “mystery surrounding the alleged double registration by the governor”, was being looked into.
“Heads may roll in the Kogi State office of INEC for the alleged untoward activities of some of our staff”, the source told The Nation.
INEC stated that the governor first registered in Abuja in January 2011 and reregistered on May 23, 2017 at the Government House, Lokoja.
At the weekend, INEC lamented that it could no longer trace any Yahaya Bello on its CVR list for May 23, 2017, raising suspicion that the list of voters registered on May 23 might have been tampered with by some staff of the commission.
The source said “The INEC management has raised an investigative team to look at the controversy over the allegation of double registration by the governor.
“It is however curious that the investigation has assumed a new dimension. The commission has the photograph of the registration of the governor but his name is not on the list of the CVR for that day in question. The name has disappeared.”
“Certainly, it is now our words against the governor. This is a mystery we need to unravel. The governor said our team might have registered his ghost. The onus is on us to present the evidence, including our register,” the source said, adding:
“But we got information before we issued an official statement on the governor’s double registration.
“INEC is suspecting foul play by some of its staff. We hope they are not dragging the commission into the dirty politics of Kogi State again.
“If we are able to establish any shady deals, those concerned will be sanctioned. They may be dismissed from service.”
INEC further listed issues the investigation team is probing.
These are: Was there any CVR on May 23 at the Government House, Lokoja? Who was registered? How did the INEC team come about the photograph of the registration showing the governor? How was the name of the registrant (Yahaya Bello) de-listed from the INEC register? and Who were those behind the de-listing?
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