By Jubril Bada

The Ondo State Government has announced the large-scale recruitment of health professionals and teachers for both primary and secondary schools to enhance effective service delivery within the state’s civil service.

It explained that the recruitment of 3,000 employees into the health and education sectors of the state will soon be completed.

The Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr Wale Akinlosotu, stated this during a joint briefing of the State Ministries of Health and Land and Housing held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists Press Centre in Akure, the state capital, on Thursday.

According to him, the recruitment will include 1,000 newly recruited health professionals and 1,000 each for primary and secondary schools.

He reiterated the commitment of the Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa-led administration to prioritising workers’ welfare by paying them the ₦70,000 minimum wage, which has been enacted into law by the National Assembly.

Providing an overview of Aiyedatiwa’s administration, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Awolowo Ajaka, disclosed that the administration has made significant progress in training health professionals across the 18 local governments in areas such as mental health, clinical practices, and self-breast examinations.

He also mentioned that the renovation and rehabilitation of primary health centres in the three senatorial districts of the state have been carried out by the current government to ensure effective health service delivery.

Ajaka added that training for 130 health workers in 2024 across 65 facilities in 18 councils on clinical and self-breast examinations has been achieved.

The Commissioner pointed out that the present government has constructed surgical and medical wards at the Mother and Child Hospital in Akure, with extension works for the pharmacy, laboratory, and HMIS departments at the General Hospital in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government.

Additionally, the government has renovated the children’s ward, isolation ward, and female ward at the General Hospital in Iwaro-Oka, Akoko South West Local Government, among other projects.

He stated that the current administration, which continues the policies of the late Akeredolu-led government, has also distributed free drugs and health commodities worth ₦100,000,000 to secondary and tertiary health facilities across the state over the past year.

According to him, the government has implemented the Orange Health Insurance Scheme (ORANGHIS) for all public servants, with 101,017 enrollees fully covered. Over 460 surgeries have been performed in less than two years under the scheme.

Similarly, the State Commissioner for the Ministry of Land and Housing, Mr Akinwumi Sowore, highlighted some of the efforts of the current administration. These include the construction of a new High Court Complex (Judiciary Village), awarding contracts for additional walls at the Oba’s Council Secretariat, constructing hospital facilities for UNIMEDTH, renovating the OSRC office building, building a Brigade Commandant’s residence, and renovating the Commissioner of Police’s official residence.

Sowore affirmed that the Ministry has allocated 100 hectares of land for the construction of 1,000 housing units by the Federal Housing Authority in four locations in Ondo State, including Akure, Ikare, Ore, and Ugbo.