By Stephen Adeleye

The Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (KSPHCDA) on Wednesday held its inaugural board meeting, with a call for adequate funding to enhance quality healthcare delivery for the residents of the state.

In her remarks, the KSPHCDA Board Chairperson, Hon. Ojonugwa Achimugu, congratulated the members, the Executive Director, management and staff of the agency, assuring their willingness to contribute their quota for more success in the agency.

She said that the meeting would enable the board members to be well informed about the concept of the primary health care, their roles, functions and responsibilities.

Achimugu enjoined the members to collaborate to work for the good and wellbeing of the good people of Kogi state.

On his part, the Executive Director of KSPHCDA, Dr Abubakar Yakubu, said the maiden board meeting was an opportunity to make bold the confidence reposed in them by His Excellency, Governor Yahaya Bello.

He said that the agency was established by a Law passed by Kogi State House of Assembly and accented to by the then Governor, Alh Idris Wada, on April 10, 2012.

According to him, the agency’s mandate covers providing leadership, promoting and supporting the implementation of quality and sustainable PHC system through advocacy, resource mobilisation, partnerships, capacity building and collaboration with relevant stakeholders.

He said the baseline survey conducted in 2018 showed that Kogi had 838 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), adding that it had increased over time due to new facilities built through SDGs and private organisations.

He highlighted some challenges facing the agency to include; funding, permanent office accommodation, office furniture & equipment, inadequate personnel, official vehicles, and difficulties in achieving the PHC Under One Roof (PHCUOR) since 2020.

He, however noted that in spite of the challenges, the agency had made some tremendous achievements in routine immunisation campaign, sustained collaborations with stakeholders, more health facilities, improved service delivery, among several other achievements.

The Lead Consultant to the agency, Dr Mary Ojonema Onoja-Alexander, presented a paper, titled: ”Concept of Primary Health Care and the Role of the Board in Kogi State”.

She stressed that Governments have a responsibility for the health of their people, which could only be achieved by the provision of adequate health and social measures.

According to her, the principles of PHC include equitable distribution, community participation, intersectoral coordination, appropriate technology as well as prevention.

She explained that the PHC has eight essential components such as: education about common health, maternal and child health care, promotion of proper nutrition, basic sanitation, and adequate water supply.

Others include immunization against infectious diseases, prevention and control of locally endemic diseases, and appropriate treatment for common diseases and injuries.

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The DOA INTEGRATED PLATFORM GROUP, on Monday commissioned a Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), ”DOA GAS” in Lokoja, Kogi State, to enable residents have easy access to their premium cooking gas.

Speaking at the Official Commissioning and Grand Opening at Phase 2, Lokoja, the Managing Director of DOA Gas, Chief David Achimugu, said DOA Gas is a subsidiary of DOA Integrated Platform Group, currently focused on providing Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) or Cooking Gas, to consumers conveniently at a very competitive price.

According to Achimugu, his passion for the development of Kogi State prompted him to establish the cooking gas plant in Lokoja in order to contribute his quota to the development of the state.

He explained that DOA Integrated Platform was incorporated in 2017 and had been a fast growing company playing a leading role in Agricultural sector development, but had also diversified into Clean and Renewable Energy sector to meet the demands of consumers at a competitive price.

He commended the Federal Government for creating opportunities for investors by setting a target of Five Million Metric tonnes (MT) of LPG for the nation by 2022.

He added that the FG’s target, prompted him to introduce the DOA cooking Gas into the market to create healthier life for the people.

”A report by Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), states that Nigeria Consumed 840,594.37 MT of LPG in 2019, indicating an increase of 60.5 per cent of over 635,452.061 MT recorded in 2018.

”The report also goes on to say that the country is on track to meet the Five Million MT target by the year 2022 as set in the Nigeria Gas Policy of 2017.

“With that in mind, DOA Gas was established to do our part in fulfilling the mandate and to create a healthier life for Nigerians by providing access to a cleaner source of energy for cooking, vehicular transportation and other domestic and industrial uses.

“Clean cooking energy has come to stay and as such should be made readily available to end users”, Achimugu said.

He, therefore expressed the company’s gratitude to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Kogi State Government and all the relevant Agencies involved in the protection and promotion of gas sector.

In his remarks, the Kogi State Governor, Alh. Yahaya Bello, who was the Chairman of the occasion, commended Achimugu for his decision to invest in the state thereby creating employment for the youths.

Bello, who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Gabriel Olofu, reassured the commitment of Kogi Government to creating enabling environment to attract more private investors to the state.

He commended the DOA Gas for its decision to invest in the state, assuring the company of the government’s unflinching support and patronage.

He restated that government would continue to create the enabling environment for privtate investors to thrive in Kogi, thereby creating more jobs for the teeming unemployed youths in the state.

He further commended the company for being employer of labour, saying. ”If you succeed, Government will succeed”.

The governor called on indigenes of the state across Nigeria and in diaspora to come and invest in all spheres of state economy so as to provide job opportunities for the youths in order to reduce restiveness and poverty in the state.

He stressed that his administration had provided enabling environment for private investments to strive by using the structure of government to envelope their businesses.

He promised to partner and synergise with corporate and individual organisations who might want to do business in the state.

He emphasised that the state had put in place mechanisms to ensure that tax holiday is granted to new investors in the state.

He noted DOA GAS has become the newest private enterprise to heed the call to join hands with his administration to move the state forward.

He commended the promoter of the DOA premium cooking Gas for his commitment to the development of the state, while urging the residents to patronise the company .

He, therefore urged Kogi indigenes both at home and abroad to emulate the Chairman and chief executive officer of DOA Integrated Platform Group, to establish their businesses in the state to assist government in providing massive employment for the teeming unemployed youths .

According to him, this massive investment was brought to the state to help reduce unemployment thereby bring down youth restiveness and insecurity across the state.

The highlight of the occasion was the official commissioning of DOA Cooking Gas plant by the Commissioner on behalf of the governor.

DOA GAS is located at opposite Lokogoma Phase 2 in front of Lily Grand Hotel, Lokoja, Kogi State capital.

Other stakeholders at the event were representatives of DPR, Federal and State Fire Service, UBA, ZENITH Bank, families and friends of Chief Achimugu, Consumers and other well wishers.

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