Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has promised to make the State first choice medical tourism destination in Nigeria and Africa at large.
The governor made the promise yesterday while speaking to newsmen in Government House, Port Harcourt, on the modest achievements of his administration in the health sector since assumption of office.
According to a statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Nelson Chukwudi, Fubara identified some challenges that have frustrated smooth delivery of healthcare services in the State, and promised to tackle them.
He identified lack of manpower, corruption, indiscipline and poor management as part of the challenges confronting the healthcare system in the state, assuring that he would nip them in the bud.
The governor said to achieve the vision, his administration is seriously paying greater attention to improving healthcare infrastructure and services available to the people, particularly at the primary level to bridge observed gaps between the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services in the State.
He stressed that the ongoing reconstruction, rehabilitation and upgrade of all primary healthcare facilities across the State, with a view to integrating them with existing secondary and tertiary institutions, was intended to deliver immediate, but quality healthcare services to majority of the people.
He said: “With all these on ground, it is evident that the primary challenges in our healthcare system are more with inadequate manpower, corruption, indiscipline and ineffective management.
“We will deal with all identified challenges and ensure that the healthcare system functions optimally to deliver affordable and efficient services to all citizens of the State.”
He stated that, besides the construction, renovation and upgrade of primary healthcare centres across the State, the capacity of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital (RSUTH) has been improved with the training of personnel, and establishment of critical units, equipped with modern equipment to deliver sterling expertise services to patients.
Fubara said: “We are proud of our modest achievements in the health sector, particularly in the construction of primary healthcare centres. We are also supporting the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital to perform optimally. Do not also forget the contributory healthcare insurance law that we have started implementing.
“I assure you that we will complete all the ongoing healthcare infrastructure projects that we have around the state.”
Meanwhile, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Adaeze Oreh, said that under the leadership of Governor Fubara, the State has experienced formidable strides in building a rigorous and robust primary healthcare system.
Dr Oreh noted that the current emphasis was on renovating and upgrading already existing primary healthcare facilities in order to enhance their functionality so that Rivers people can have access to affordable and accessible primary healthcare services in the State.

The Rivers State Government has faulted the State House of Assembly over the passing into law of the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission Amendment Bill, 2024.
The Tide learnt that 24 lawmakers loyal to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, were present at last Friday’s emergency plenary where the new law was enacted without the governor’s assent.
The action of the lawmakers to override the governor was sequel to an observation by the House Majority Leader, Major Jack, that the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission Amendment Bill which was sent to Governor Siminalayi Fubara since February 19, 2024 had yet to be assented to by the governor.
But the Chief of Staff, Rivers State Government House, Hon. Edison Ehie, in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Saturday and made available to The Tide, said the lawmakers lacked the powers they intend to assume.
Ehie stated, “The Rivers State House of Assembly lacks the powers, legal or otherwise, to remove the power of appointment of the Chairman and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission from the governor and vest that power on themselves.
“The provision in the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission (Amendment) Law, 2024 seeking to vest that power on the House is in clear contravention of the 1999 Constitution, and therefore, a nullity in the eyes of the Law. See the case of MacFoy v UAC (1961) 3 All ER 1169 where the court held that you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand.”
Ehie argued that the alteration to the Third Schedule, paragraph 1A provides that the composition, tenure, structure, finance, functions, powers, and other proceedings of the Commission shall be as prescribed by a law of the House of Assembly of the State, but that the appointment of the Chairman and members of the Commission is not listed therein.
He, therefore, asserted that the power to appoint the Chairman and members of the House of Assembly Service Commission lies with the governor, as is the case with the other bodies listed under Section 197 of the 1999 Constitution.
“There is nothing in the Alteration that, by any stretch of imagination, can be inferred to confer the power of appointing the Chairman and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission on the Rivers State House of Assembly, notwithstanding the fact that the law creating the Commission was enacted by the Rivers State House of Assembly”, he said.
The Chief of Staff further argued that the purport of Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution is that the Assembly Service Commission is not an appendage of the legislature but under the control of the State Government, adding that, “Even at the national level, the members of the National Assembly Service Commission are appointed by the President in collaboration with the National Assembly.”

Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has again reassured the people that the Port Harcourt Ring Road will be delivered on schedule.
Fubara gave the assurance when he visited the site of the project on Wednesday to assess the extent of work that has been achieved.
The governor rode the stretch of the road from off the Obiri-Ikwerre-Airport Road axis, through the Jesuit Memorial School to Elikpokwuodu Community, then to Rumuosi and Ozuoba communities before terminating the inspection tour at UTC Junction.
The inspection tour traversed through three local government areas of the State – Ikwerre, Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt City.
Speaking to newsmen at the end of the inspection, Fubara explained that the contract for the Port Harcourt Ring Road was the first of such agreements that he signed.
He said so much money had been expended on the project, with the driving objective of making sure that it is delivered to Rivers people.
“I think that we are good, considering the understanding that we had with Julius Berger Nigeria PLC.
“We signed off that in 36 months, this project will be done and delivered, and with what we are seeing, we are meeting up that target.
“I think that we have a few issues; the price rate of things at that time we signed the contract and what subsists presently is no longer the same.
“But whatever it is, I have assured them that we are going to provide the necessary support to make sure that we deliver this project”, he said.
The governor added, “You know this project is very important to us. It is one of the first things that I signed off when I came in as the Governor of this State.
“It is a signature infrastructure project for me, whichever way anybody wants to look at it. We signed on for it. We are paying dearly for it, and it’s one of the objectives of this administration to make sure that we deliver it to our people.”
In his remarks, the Managing Director, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Dr. Lars Richter, who conducted the governor round the project site, said work has advanced after piling and laying of beams on the first flyover, which started on January 15, 2024, and accomplished two months after.
Richter, who explained that while they have intensified work on the second flyover with beams ready to be laid, significant strides have been achieved in laying out the road and the drains for accelerated construction.
He assured the governor that the project will be delivered on schedule, and within specifications.