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The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has advocated effective oversight of health institutions by the relevant committees to ensure they serve the Nigerian public satisfactorily.
Abbas made this statement on Thursday at a public hearing organised by the House Committee on Healthy Specialty Care and Services on “A Bill for an Act to amend the Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board to provide for the establishment of the Orthopaedic Hospital in Billiri, Gombe State.”
According to the Speaker, the bill seeks to address the orthopaedic healthcare gap in the Northeast by creating a facility that can offer specialised care to those in need.
He expressed his commitment to strengthening healthcare delivery in Nigeria, with a focus on specialised institutions.
“The Orthopaedic Hospital Billiri bill presents several key merits in terms of addressing healthcare needs in Gombe State and, more broadly, Nigeria’s healthcare system. This will enhance access to critical orthopaedic care, particularly in a region that requires sufficient specialised health services to remain resilient,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Alex Ogbona, stated that the bill seeks to provide for the establishment of the Orthopaedic Hospital in Billiri, Gombe State, under the control of the Orthopaedic Hospitals Management Board and affiliated with the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe, to provide specialised orthopaedic treatment and medical services.
Represented by the Deputy Chairman, Shetima Ali, Mr Ogbona recalled that the Principal Act was first amended during the 9th National Assembly.
Also speaking, the Gombe State Commissioner for Health, Dr Habu Dahiru, stated that the state has only one general tertiary institution, adding that population growth over the years has rendered the facility incapable of meeting the needs of the people.
According to him, the population has outgrown the facility due to a high influx of people from neighbouring states as a result of insurgency in the North East sub-region.
“Billiri, the headquarters of Billiri Local Government Area, the proposed location of the orthopaedic hospital, is strategically located on the highway.
“It will provide easy access for patients in need of special care and referrals from primary and secondary facilities in the state and the neighbouring Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, and Taraba States.
“At the moment, our indicators are poor and far from the World Health Organisation’s recommendations for the state and the zone. Therefore, we need specialised orthopaedic hospitals to improve our indicators, access training, research, and expert management to reverse the trend,” he said.
He added that when established, the hospital will provide millions of people with access to quality healthcare services.
Also speaking at the event, Brig Gen Nuhu Adeh (retd) noted that there are three orthopaedic hospitals across the three regions in the country, located in Kano, Lagos, and Enugu States.
