We’re bridging infrastructural deficit – Akeredolu

By Adekola Afolabi
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The Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has stated that it was a deliberate policy of his administration to massively intervene in the infrastructural deficit across the state to deliver the people from the morass of poverty.

He also noted that apart from aggressive infrastructural development in key sectors such as education and infrastructural development, the state health sector has witnessed tremendous improvement in the last two years of his government.

Arakunrin Akeredolu made this known while speaking at the Silver Jubilee Award ceremonies of the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun state, where he received the Faculty’s Silver Jubilee Award on behalf of Ondo State Government.

At the event, the governor specifically showered encomiums on his predecessor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, who he said contributed immensely to the state health care development, especially on the establishment of University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo.

He advised government at all levels to invest consistently in the health sector, especially primary health care delivery system which touches the people at the grassroots.

He specifically enjoined those entrusted with the sacred duty of service to the public to renew their dedication for more positive results.

The governor informed that he was convinced that real development  is achievable only when the basic sectors, which drive the socio-economic  indices, are developed, noting that Ondo State is lucky to have a University of Medicine, which he described as the first of its kind in the Continent.

The governor equally added that within the available resources, his government has renovated over 700 public schools in all the three senatorial districts of the state, constructed new roads and continued to fix bad ones across the nooks and crannies of the state, saying that he has not allowed paucity of funds to deter him from delivering on his promises to the people of the state.

He commended the Faculty for contributing immensely to the development of the teaching and practice of Medicine since inception 25 years ago,  stating that the number of graduates, postgraduates and research experts produced in the various fields of Medicine is worth celebrating.

In his welcome address the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Temitope Ogunbodede said   the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences has two programmes, nursing, and physiotherapy, while the nursing programme is the strongest in the country.

He explained that very few universities could afford to have a physiotherapy programme, while OAU is the only university in the country that has an occupational therapy programme, apart from the physiotherapy.

In his keynote address titled: “Twenty Five Years of Building, The Foundation of Scientific Health Care in Nigeria – Looking Ahead”, the former Vice Chancellor, Eko University of Medical and Health Sciences , Prof. Muhaaz Durosinmi went down the memory lane on  how the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences  came to existence.

He noted that the faculty has over the years carried out various researches that brought the university to the world scene.

Professor Durosinmi while appreciating past heroes and heroines of the faculty maintained that it has the largest concentration of medical scientists.

The University Don described poor funding as a perennial problem in the faculty as well as the university as a whole.

He advocated the need for serious funding of academic programmes in the faculty due to its importance.