The Gov. Mai Mala Buni-led administration in Yobe has constructed and renovated 142 primary healthcare facilities across the state in the last five years.
Dr Babagana Machina, Executive Secretary, Yobe Primary Healthcare Management Board, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu on Wednesday.
He said the feat achieved was in fulfilment of Buni’s campaign promise before his emergence as the state governor in 2019.
“The governor promised to establish at least one standard and functional primary healthcare centre in each of the 178 political wards in the state.
“This initiative commenced on Jan. 6, 2020. By the end of his first term, 109 PHCs had been completed, while 29 were in various stages of completion.
“In his second term, which commenced on May 29, 2023, the remaining 29, meaning that the number of PHCs rose to 138.
“The governor subsequently approved the initiation and completion of additional four PHCs, bringing the total number of completed PHCs across the state to 142,” Machina said.
The executive secretary said the governor also approved the recruitment of 536 health workers to address the dearth of nurses and midwives at the centres.
Machina, however, said construction of PHCs in parts of the state could not be possible as a result of security challenges.
The trend, he said, also made it impossible for some rehabilitated PHCs to be utilised by the communities.
“But we are actively engaging the security agencies and other critical stakeholders to see how these challenges can be addressed,” he said. (NAN)
