Otti’s Health Reforms Impress CMDs, MDs as Abia Hosts Gala Night
Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has received commendation from the Committee of Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and Medical Directors (MDs) of Federal Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria for his administration’s reforms and investments in the health sector.
The commendation was made during a gala night organised by the Abia State Government for the CMDs and MDs at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia, as part of activities marking the 115th quarterly meeting of the committee.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Engr. Ikechukwu Emetu, Governor Otti assured the committee that Abia would not return to what he described as the “Egypt” of poor governance, stressing that his administration was deliberately grooming young people through the Abia State Leadership Academy to sustain good governance beyond the present administration.
Otti said the state government had graduated more than 1,000 young people under the third cohort of the Leadership Academy, adding that the beneficiaries had been equipped with the knowledge required for effective leadership.
He said, “Never again will Abia State go back to Egypt,” assuring the visitors that the people of the state had experienced good governance and would be able to distinguish between good governance and misgovernance.
The Governor thanked the CMDs and MDs for choosing Abia as the venue of their meeting, assuring them that the state government would host the committee again before the end of the administration.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ogbonnaya Enoch Uche, said the state had undergone significant transformation in the health sector under Governor Otti.
Uche said 277 primary healthcare centres had been rehabilitated within three years, with 151 already functional and 232 completed, while 12 general hospitals were undergoing renovation or new construction to ensure that all the 17 local government areas had access to general hospitals.
He also highlighted the commissioning of the 80-bed Ohafia General Hospital, which he said was fully digitalised and equipped with modern and telehealth facilities.
According to him, the state government has consistently allocated 15 per cent of its annual budget to health, in line with the Abuja Declaration, while 821 health workers had been recruited and approval given for another 1,000.
He said nearly 300,000 Abians had also been enrolled in the state health insurance scheme following its relaunch by the Otti administration.
The Commissioner urged medical professionals graduating from federal institutions to consider Abia, saying the state was recruiting healthcare workers and would pay them salaries comparable to those at the federal level.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Committee of CMDs and MDs, Prof Saad . Ahmed, expressed appreciation to the Abia State Government for its hospitality, saying members had witnessed the transformation taking place across the state.
Prof. Ahmed commended the administration’s investments in primary and secondary healthcare, human resource development and health insurance, while appealing to Governor Otti to establish a fellowship programme that would enable young graduates from across the country to learn good governance, leadership and community development in Abia.
The Chairman of the Governing Board of Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, Chief Matthew Uguru, also commended Governor Otti for supporting the hospital, particularly through the maintenance of internal roads and construction of a 20-room VIP ward.
In his remarks, the Chief Medical Director of FMC Umuahia, Prof. Onyebuchi Azubuike, said the 115th quarterly meeting provided an opportunity for CMDs and MDs to benchmark their institutions against best practices across the country.
Azubuike thanked the Abia State Government for organising the gala night, describing the event as a reflection of the “spirit of the new Abia,” and urged the visiting medical directors to relax and enjoy the hospitality of the state.
