Ondo govt charges residents to protect government infrastructural projects

Ondo State Government has warned the citizens of the state against the destruction and vandalizing of infrastructural facilities and projects in their communities, saying unwarranted attacks on government properties would affect development and cause unimaginable harm than good.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, made this appeal in Akure, the state capital, during a one-day training workshop organised by the state Global Fund/National Agency for the Control of AIDS/Resilient Sustainable System for Health/COVID-19 Response Mechanism.

Ajaka, who was represented by the deputy director, of public enlightenment, Ministry of Health, Mrs Rosemary Falokun, said the call became necessary in order to encourage the government and individuals to bring more developmental projects to the rural areas in the state.

He said all the communities in the state should work hand in hand with the state government to provide solutions to their challenges at their various locality, saying the development of the states should not be left to the government alone.

He stressed the need for the people to take ownership of their health and change their behavioural patterns and said “we have some organizations in the state, complementing the efforts of the state government in order to improve our health sector because the government cannot do it alone.

“They voluntarily released themselves to visit these grassroots facilities in order to carry out their exercise for the prevention and control of diseases and others in the state.”

Speaking, the Programme Officer, Global Fund/National Agency for the Control of AIDs/Resilient Sustainable System for Health/COVID-19 Response Mechanism Project, Mrs Jumoke Abereowo, who explained the essence of the training said their projects were centred on identifying the major gaps that were affecting the quality health services at the local governments.

Abereowo said, “the projects are being implemented across the 18 states in Nigeria. In, Ondo state is one of the benefiting states and the projects are centred on strengthening the infrastructure and also the facilities-based organizations in the state.

“And also to provide solutions to identify the gap that is coming out from the primary healthcare facilities in Ondo state communities.

“In Ondo state, we have five major local governments where the projects are being implemented which include; Owo, Akure South, Akure North, Ilaje and Ondo West and the projects engage 15 based organizations, working to ensure that there is a success in the state with the representatives of these three networks, People living with HIV Aids, Tuberculosis Consistence and Malaria Consistence (ATM).

“We believe that government cannot do it alone hence the need for communities to take the ownership and the responsibility to address certain issues that emanated from the facilities where they were given health services.

“This is a call to our government because we believe that they can still do better, they should provide medical personnel and health volunteers like Ad-hoc staff that can be paying stipends and yet they will be improved their knowledge and skills which will also strengthen their health facilities.

“We also call on the Ondo state residents not to back out on any government or individual infrastructure projects, instead they should communal come together to ensure that they protect any projects that come into their various communities.”

The Programme Officer, Justice Development and Peace Centre (JDPC) Austin Ogunleye,
said during their project monitoring in some rural areas, they discovered that it was very difficult to get health officers to each of these health facilities.

According to him, this showed that the state has limited health personnel and called on the government to do something about it in order to improve the health sector in the state.

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