Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum yesterday visited one of the health facilities in the state where he discovered another set of health workers extorting money from patients for services meant to be provided free.
Governor Zulum has a penchant for making unannounced visits to government establishments in order to know how committed the members of staff are.
The Governor rode in a 10-seater bus without a siren and stormed the Gwange II Primary Health care in Maiduguri metropolis without notice.
There, he discovered that some corrupt health officials were collecting between N8, 000 to N10, 000 from patients for services meant to be provided free.
The Nation reports that Governor Zulum had, in the past, engaged in similar visits ranging from schools, public offices, and hospitals, among others.
The Governor, who was accompanied on the mission with the State Commissioner for Health, expressed his displeasure over the act, even as he ordered a full investigation into the matter.
The Governor also noted that the attitude of the officials of the health care centre has made the facility to be deserted because the people cannot afford to pay such an amount of money for common ailments such as malaria.
“The members of staff we met here (at Gwange II, PHC) confirmed that they are used to collecting between N8, 000 and N10, 000 from patients to treat them of malaria,” Zulum said.
The Governor directed the Borno State Primary Health care Agency to thoroughly investigate, identify all the culprits and take appropriate disciplinary actions.
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Zulum also expressed his sadness that the same primary health care centre had only one member of medical staff on the ground to attend to patients, despite having 29 health workers on the government’s payroll.
At a sister primary health care centre in another location within Gwange I, Governor Zulum was happy that the situation was the opposite of what he saw from his first point of call.
At the Gwange I health care centre, medical workers were on the ground attending to patients without extorting them. For this, the Governor commended them.
