Governor Gboyega Oyetoka of Osun state said Thursday that the state government is investing heavily in the health sector to bring basic health facilities closer to the people at the grassroots.
Speaking when he received a delegation from Blueprint Newspapers led by the chairperson of the Editorial Board, Hajiya Zainab Suleiman Okino at Osun State Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, Oyetola said the state government was set to build primary healthcare centres in each of the 332 electoral wards designated by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He said the healthcare centres would be constructed to expand the coverage for the people of the state and decrease healthcare costs.
“We have done well in the health sector. Osun set out to build 332 PHCs, one per ward. We have 332 wards in the State. Of this number, over 300 have been revitalised and rehabilitated. The intention is to bring basic health closer to the people at the grassroots,” he said.
He said investment in the 332 functional healthcare centres has coincidentally helped the Ejigbo COVID-19 returnees from Ivory Coast.
The governor said Osun state runs one of the best Health Insurance Schemes with affordable packages to make access to healthcare easier for the people of the state.
He said the state government has also approved the implementation of 100 percent payment of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for all categories of health workers to stem brain drain.
He said the approval has put an end to eight years of agitation for salary increment by medical practitioners in the state.
The governor also spoke on security and welfare, which he said, are the cornerstones of meaning governance.
He said the state government has made a priority to pay the entitlement of workers and pensioners as and when due.
“We have been paying full salaries since we came in. We are also among the few states paying minimum wage despite paucity of funds,” he said.
He said the state government is also building infrastructure across the state for sustainable growth and progress.
“We just flagged off the construction of a flyover in the State capital as part of our efforts to ease traffic and to halt loss of lives at the intersection. We hope to complete it in nine months from the day we flagged it off,” he said.
