The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari is neither critically ill nor in life-threatening situation.
The minister spoke yesterday in Umuahia at the second town hall meeting for the South East and the launch of national reorientation campaign, “Change Begins With Me’’ in Abia.
The minister, who was asked to tell the country about the health condition of the president and whether there was need for a regular briefing on his health stressed that there was no reason for such briefings.
Mohammed said the president spoke with him on Saturday and there was no reason for Nigerians to be worried.
“I can say here very boldly and confidently that there is absolutely no cause for alarm.
“`Mr president called me at 2.43 p.m. on Saturday and we spoke.
“If Mr president is in the hospital or is critically ill, as minister of information, I will give daily bulletin on his health.
“Mr president is neither critically ill nor in the hospital and there is nothing life threatening about the checks he is going through,’’ he said.
Speaking on the state of the economy, the minister said that it was corruption that made the prices of commodities to go up.
He noted that no economy in the world could survive the blind and reckless looting perpetrated by the previous administration.
“If one person was found with almost 10 million dollar in an uncompleted house and another with 136 million dollar in fake account and other with N7 billion how can the economy survives the kind of looting.
“Naturally the price of commodities will go up.
“These are funds meant for development of infrastructure and for provision of services.
“That is why you cannot do anything with the economy without first facing corruption squarely.
“But the good news is that the government is doing both together, as we are fighting corruption, we are also making sure that we are ensuring we are out of recession by investing heavily on infrastructure.
Mohammed also pacified the audience who lamented the spate of attacks on farmers by the herdsmen.
He said contrary to the position of some elements who want to destroy the unity of the country, the government was not supporting any section of the country against the other.
He said it was purely security issue and it was being handled from both the federal and the state levels.
“I want to make the appeal that the strength of Nigeria is in its diversity and unity.
“We have been living together peacefully before and we shall continue to live together peacefully,’’ he said.
Tag: hospital
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Buhari not in hospital, says minister
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Buhari’s wife distributes food items to FCT hospitals to mark birthday
Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has distributed foodstuffs and baby kits to nursing mothers and patients in some hospitals in the FCT as part of a goodwill to mark her birthday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a delegation sent by the wife of the President visited the Asokoro, Garki, Wuse, and Maitama District Hospitals.
Mrs Buhari, who was represented by her Senior Special Assistant (Administration), Dr Hajo Sani, on Friday in Abuja, said the gesture was an expression of kindness to the less privileged in the society.
“This is not the first time Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari, is celebrating her birthday.
“I remember we had a similar event in the orphanage where she presented a humanitarian gift to orphans in Karu.
“As you are all aware, today is her birthday and we are also glad and most importantly, that whoever we give this gift, they are very excited, happy and wish her excellency many happy returns.’’
The wife of the President also prayed God to heal the patients and to cater for their families.
While receiving the delegation from Mrs Buhari, the Medical Director of Maitama District Hospital, Dr Adetoun Sotimehin, expressed her appreciation for the kind gesture and wished Mrs Buhari a happy birthday.
Some of the patients, who spoke with NAN during the visit, expressed their happiness for the kind gesture of the President’s wife.
Also speaking, Mrs Ummi Abbas, who is one of the nursing mothers at the Garki Hospital, expressed thanks to Mrs Buhari for the gifts and prayed God to grant the President Muhammadu Buhari administration the wisdom and capacity to succeed.
Similarly, Mrs Olofintuji Akinseye, expressed appreciation to the wife of the President for the kind gesture and prayed God to grant her long life. (NAN)
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Rotary donates two incubators to hospital
The Rotary Club of Omole Golden, in conjunction with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGS), has donated two incubators to Ifako-Ijaiye General Hospital.
Making the donation at the paediatrics ward of the hospital, the OSSAP-SDGS, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, and Rotary Club District 9110 Governor Mr Patrick Ikheloa, harped on the need for more philanthropists and clubs to join the onerous task of reducing maternal and child mortality in Nigeria. The donation was part of the club’s key service projects for the year.
Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire, who was represented by the consultant to the (OSSAP-SDG), Dr Oyewale Adeoye, said studies have shown that the overbearing heat in recent time has led to an increase in the number of premature births in hospitals; a development which puts much pressure on incubators and phototherapy machines in public health institutions.
She said her office, as part of its commitment to reducing poverty as well as maternal and infant mortality, was happy to partner Rotary Club of Omole Golden to provide the incubators for the hospital.
The hospital, according to her, should make good use of the facility to ensure that the desired objectives of the donors, part of which is to save as many babies as possible, were achieved.
“No life is worth losing and I would like to express our commitment to the preservation of lives, especially those of babies and urge the management of the hospital to make good use of these facilities,” she said.
Cutting the tape to inuagurate the incubators, the District Governor said the importance of incubators in the preservation of lives, especially babies’ could not be overemphasised.
He urged well-meaning Nigerians to join the club in promoting the ideals of service and making life more meaningful, especially for the poor.
“You can see how touching it is to see that a baby that is 25 weeks old is not only delivered, but sustained knowing that without incubators their chances of survival is less than five per cent. I appreciate the Omole Golden for this unique opportunity and pray that more individuals and groups join in the onerous task of preventing infant mortality in the country,” he said.
President, Rotary Club Omole Golden, Rotarian Titi Sunmonu, described the donation as the star project of her club, adding that maternal and infant mortality was one of the six focal areas of Rotary International, and the club was committed to the prevention of avoidable deaths of babies.
Earlier, welcoming members of the club, the hospital’s Deputy Medical Director, Dr. Mercy Erivea-Kuti, thanked the club for the incubators.
Dr. Erivea-Kuti said by the donation, the club was preventing infant mortality as a poor parent making use of the facility is saved about N500,000 which he could have paid out if he patronised private hospital.
“Any parent whose baby gets into an incubator has been saved nothing less than N500,000 which is the minimum he would have paid in private health facility, but because it has been provided by the club, such parent would only need to procure the essential drugs for the baby,” he said.
She said the hospital would continue to look forward to such interventions from time to time in order to ensure that as many infants as possible are snatched away from the jaws of death.
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Quack doctor held as hospital is shut
Lagos State Government yesterday sealed off the Empire Medical Centre in Ikorodu and arrested its owner, Mr Onumoh Eleazer, for alleged quackery.
Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris, said the closure was in continuation of the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency’s cleansing of the sector.
Idris berated health care providers for recruiting auxiliary nurses and unqualified personnel who endanger the lives of patients who patronise them.
Some of the so-called trained auxiliary nurses and unqualified assistants, he said, have gone to establish their own outfits as ‘professionals’ and in turn breed other quacks.
Such a trend, the commissioner said, could lead to consequences for the health sector if not addressed.
“Lagos State Government is strongly determined to put a halt to this ugly trend of having unqualified personnel work in health facilities, be it private or public. We as a government will continue to insist that the environment for the dispensation of medical care should be suitable for the promotion and maintenance of good health and we will ensure that”, Idris said.
He said there was no hiding place for quacks to practice in the state as they will be fished out.
The ministry, he said, was investigating the activities of some other health care operators suspected to be engaged in quackery, adding that they will be prosecuted if found liable.
Idris cautioned registered health facilities who go beyond their schedule, saying a situation where a health facility registered as a maternity home exceeds its mandates would not be tolerated.
The commissioner urged the public not to patronise any health facility without the agency’s logo and to channel complaints of professional misconduct by health care providers to Room 514 Ministry of Health, Alausa, Ikeja.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Primary Health Care Dr Olufemi Onanuga said the ministry swooped on the facility following public complaints.
The proprietor, he said, performed surgery procedures on patients without a certificate and practicing license.
Onanuga said the proprietor had just operated on three of the seven patients admitted in his facility before his arrest.
All patients found there, he said, had been transferred to the Ikorodu General Hospital.
Eleazer, who claimed to have studied Medicine in the Dominican Republic but could not collect his certificate for financial reasons, said he ‘trained’ under Dr. Godwin Kanu, a retired consultant traumatologist and orthopaedist for 14 years after his return to the country.
Idris said Eleazer would face Justice. -
80 DAYS AFTER CAR CRASH, VICTOR OLAOTAN STILL IN HOSPITAL
SINCE surviving a ghastly motor accident in the early hours of October 31, 2016, popular Nigerian actor Victor Olaotan is still in hospital.
Olaotan, who played one of the fun-loving trio in Opa Williams’ latest movie, ‘Three Wise Men’, was returning to a movie set in Festac, Lagos, when the accident happened around Apple Junction, Festac. He was the only occupant of the car at the time of the accident.
Olaotan was rushed to a hospital in Surulere where he was place in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and has been there ever since. Though Olaotan was induced into a coma for treatment, he had since come out of it.
His publicist, Demola Sanyaolu, in a telephone call put to him on Wednesday said that the actor is ‘recovering’ and ‘will be discharged from the hospital soon.’
But he is not certain of when he will be discharged.
The actor was notably absent at the premiere of ‘Three Wise Men’ in Lagos, last December.
The film tells the story of 64-year-old Irikefe (Richard Mofe-Damijo) and his two friends, Timi (Zack Orji) and Tobore (Victor Olaotan), all retirees, who become playboys.
Produced by Opa Williams and directed by Patience Oghre-Imobhio, the film got funding from Nollyfund, a Bank of Industry (BoI)’s intervention for movies.
Other cast of the movie are Ebere Okaro, Tina Mba, Thelma Nwosu, Uche Nwaefuna, Akunna Nworgu and Stanley Edirin Isokoh
Olaotan who started acted in 1959, played Fred Ade-Williams, the lead role in the Nigerian TV drama, Tinsel. He had kick-started his stage career when he represented his school in the play, Gods Are Not To Blame.
In 1974, Olaotan starred in a soap opera by Laolu Ogunniyi called ‘Candles in The Wind’. Olaotan also worked at NTA Ibadan where he produced Yoruba and English dramas. And in 1981, he accompanied former president Shehu Shagari to the United States to have a meeting with President Ronald Regan.
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Dental hospital launches new office
A leading dental care provider, Smile360, has launched its new office at 40A Cameron Road, off Kingsway Road, Ikoyi in Lagos.
The management said it is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, offering services such as family dentistry, endodontic, prosthodontics, cosmetic dentistry and hollywood smile, orthodontic and invisible braces, dental implants, maxillofacial surgery, periodontology and teeth whitening.
The office has seven surgery treatment suites, an orthodontic bay with five dental stations, patients’ lounge, garden play area, kids’ lounge, laboratory, two sterilising rooms, ConeBeam CT capable of taking 3-dimensional X-rays, conference room and bigger parking space.
Its Chief Executive Officer and Medical Director Dr. Amy Traore-Shumbusho said: “Smile360’s relocation will enhance our operational efficiencies which will improve the quality of service we provide to our clients. We look forward to providing the same exceptional care that can be gotten abroad but in a larger, more comfortable setting.”
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RCCG builds 11-bed hospital in Lagos
The Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Lagos Province 2, has built a multi-million naira healthcare facility, Stillwaters Hospital, in Magboro community on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
The 11-bed not-for-profit hospital was inaugurated at the weekend by the wife of the General Overseer, Mrs. Folu Adeboye, as part of the church’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Mrs. Adeboye advised community leaders and other residents to protect the hospital, guard against religious and ethnic discrimination in the use of the facility.
“Whatever God does, He does it for all. We must not say this was done by Christians and therefore not value it. We must live in love and protect the facility,” she said.
Provincial Pastor Yemi Lebi said Stillwaters, besides being fully stocked with drugs, boasts state-of-the-art medical equipment, including ultrasound scan facilities and an x-ray machine.
Land for the project, he added, was donated to the community by former Ogun State Governor Olusegun Osoba, but the community was unable to equip the health centre built thereon.
Lebi said RCCG took over and upgraded the health centre with a tentative staff strength of two doctors, a matron, several nurses among others.
“It is not for profit, will be highly subsidised and patients will pay only a token to access healthcare at Stillwaters,” he said, adding that this was only one of the church’s many CSR projects.
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Lassa Fever: Ogun places 396 people under surveillance
The Ogun Commissioner for Health Dr. Babtunde Ipaye has said that 396 people that had primary and secondary contacts with the Assistant Chief Nursing Officer of Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Idi- Aba in Abeokuta, who died of Lassa fever have been traced and placed under surveillance in case they develop symptoms of the disease.
Ipaye made this known during an official commissioning of Shoremekun Memorial Hospital (Blue Star) at Ifo Local Government Area of the State, yesterday.
The Commissioner said that the primary contacts are majorly members of the late victim’s family, while the secondary contacts are the victim’s co-workers in the hospital, particularly those in her department.
He noted that none of the contacts have shown abnormal temperature since they began monitoring them and said the medical officers attached to each of the contacts would continue to monitor until the specified period in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard.
The affected people could be medically adjudged to be free of the disease when they exceed the observation period.
“All the 396 contacts have not shown any abnormal symptoms or signs of Lassa fever. Their temperature is under control and we have stationed our monitoring officer with each of the contacts to continue monitoring throughout a specific period in line with the World Health Organisation standard,” he said.
The Commissioner urged members of the public not to panic, assuring that the government was on top of the situation.
He however advised the people to cultivate high level of hygiene, keep their food away from rats and advised members of the public to report any case of malaria symptoms that may have exceeded three days to the nearest General Hospital, the Ministry of Health, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta or call the following dedicated lines; 09099140121 and 09099140122.
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Hospital staff arrested for stealing babies for illegal adoption
Indian police on Sunday said six hospital staff arrested on Friday for stealing babies and young children had been charged for selling them to childless couples in illegal adoption racket.
Investigating officer, Ravi Channannavar, said in Chennai that the three men and three women, arrested in southern India, were part of a bigger, organised gang involved in trafficking children.
The suspects worked as nurses and laboratory technicians at five private hospitals and a government-run hospital in Mysuru city.
Channannavar said that the gang targeted poor couples coming to the hospitals to deliver or get an abortion, in which case they convinced them to deliver the child.
He said that they sell the children soon after stealing them.
“In other cases, the gang would steal children from beggars on the streets and sell them for 200,000 rupees ($2,995) in cities like Bengaluru,’’ he said.
Channannavar said investigations had revealed that the group had sold at least 15 children to different childless couples.
“We have rescued three children so far and are looking for the others. There may be many more.
“Statements by the arrested gang members indicate the involvement of a doctor as well,’’ he said.
Channannavar said the six were arrested following a lengthy investigation triggered in April when police received a complaint from a woman who said her two-year-old son had been snatched off the street.
The officer confirmed that crime data released by government in August showed more than 40 per cent of human trafficking cases in 2015 involved children bought, sold and exploited as modern day slaves.
Paul Sundar, Singh of non-profit Karunalaya, which runs a centre for street children in Chennai, described the case as one of the few that had come to light.
He stressed that there were many more unreported cases.
Sundar described stealing children as a big organised crime that police were still struggling to clamp down on across the country.
He pointed out that cases of young children stolen from the pavements of Chennai city earlier the year were still unsolved. (Reuters/NAN)
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Workers’ protest paralyses LAUTECH hospital
For three days, activities at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital in Ogbomosho, Oyo State were disrupted, following a protest by members of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).
The protest was over the alleged non-payment of salaries for eight months by the Oyo State government, which took over the responsibility in 2014.
It started with warning protest on Wednesday, with the nurses threatening to go on indefinite strike if government did not act promptly.
The NANNM Vice-Chairman, Comrade Zaccheus Oyewunmi, said his members were facing hardship because of the non-payment of salaries. He wondered why the government would owe them, lamenting that many of them have died of hunger.
Oyewumi said the government paid half of their January salary shortly after the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) Oyo State chapter called off its strike last August. The government has not paid the arrears since then, he added.
He said NANNM executive members met with the government’s representatives, including the Commissioners for Finance and Health, to negotiate how the salary arrears would be paid. He accused the commissioners of making empty promise to discuss the issue with Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
Oyewunmi said members were surprised to receive half of their February salaries last month. This, he said, prompted them to arrange a meeting with the hospital management.
He said: “The hospital management promised to proffer solution to the crisis. After the meeting, we received half of our March salary in late September. We told the hospital management that we were not happy with the way government was releasing the arrears.
“We told them that April salary should not come in half. The straw that broke the Carmel’s back was the decision of the government to pay another half salary for April. We held an emergency congress where decision of the three-day warning protest was taken, after which we would embark on an indefinite strike.”