I inherited decaying health sector in 2015 - Niger Governor

Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has painted a gloomy picture of the health sector he inherited in 2015 upon assuming office, saying that quack doctors in government hospitals in the state and sub-standard private hospitals were the greatest challenges facing the sector.

He said the decay in the sector turned all the government hospitals in the state into mere consulting clinics, begging for urgent attention.

The governor who disclosed this in Minna yesterday during a memorial lecture and book lunch in honour of a late former commissioner for health and hospital services in the state, Dr. Ibrahim Babamini Sule, pointed out that government hospitals became the last option for patients seeking medical attention in the state due to the decay in the sector.

“I inherited a lot of problems and challenges in the health sector in 2015 when my administration came on board. Doctors in public hospitals abused the ethics of the profession by directing patients to the private clinics owned by their friends or associates.

“The problem of quack doctors and hospitals carrying out functions that are beyond their powers with attendant loss of lives was another big challenge.”

He pointed out that, that was what informed the decision of the government to set up a committee with the late commissioner for health as the chairman with a view to correcting all the anomalies in other to reposition the sector for better services.