News Editor
From Dooshima Terkura, Makurdi
Benue State Government has embarked on the rehabilitation of 98 Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) across 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state to bring health services closer to the people.
The Special Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (BLGCA), Mr Denen Aondoakaa, disclosed this when he played host to members of the Correspondent Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Benue state council in his office in Makurdi.
Mr Aondoakaa said the government is partnering with relevant stakeholders under the IMPACT Project Nigeria, a World Bank assisted project, in doing the renovation.
He said the state government has embarked on the project to ensure that health clinics are available for rural areas.
Aondoakaa said “We are renovating 98 PHCs under the IMPACT Project . Each Local Government has three to four PHCs we want to ensure that when a woman walks into a PHC, someone is there to attend to her.”
He further stated that “We are also renovating staff quarters and chairmen residential buildings to make them stay back at their respective local government areas to work instead of running to urban centers.
According him “In most LGs, residential quarters for Director of General Services and Administration (DGSA and Chairmen were dilapidated and abandoned. But we are renovating them and creating an enabling environment for the officers to stay comfortably and work in their respective LGAs.”
Aondoakaa who spoke on the security situation in the state, intimated that 1there are still communities in the state that people cannot access following continued attacks.
He noted that the anti open grazing law is still in place in the State adding that any cow that is not ranched is not supposed to be in Benue as the owners are breaking the law.
He stated that the state government is doing everything to support the security to do their job in the state will continue to improve on what we are doing.
On chieftaincy affairs. Selection process is being done transparently.
The truth of the matter is that there must be descending voice that is the beauty of democracy. Disagreements between chairmen and councils are normal. It happens at the local level and even in the State level.
Bureau for LG only coordinate the affairs of local government councils. It is not possible to do away with the bureau. The figures of finances accrued to the local government is high but the expenditures are huge.
We make sure this finances are efficiently utilized to meet the yearnings of the grassroots.
Deduction of LG funds for IDPs in Benue is to take care of eventuality being a natural and insecurity situations.
Most of the communities without IDPs but are affected by crisis are given interventions from such funds being deducted.
