Enugu govt, FG sign agreement on take-over of state Medical Diagnostic Centre

From Chinedu Nwafor Abakaliki

The Enugu State government and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), an agency of the federal, have signed agreement on the proposed take-over of the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre.

The agreement, according to the authorities, is to pave the way for the NSIA to provide comprehensive medical, diagnostic and oncology (cancer) treatment services to the people of Enugu State and beyond.

The agreement to take over the health facility was reached after series of negotiations between the Enugu State Government and the NSIA.

Gov. Ugwuanyi, who was represented by his deputy, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Ezeilo, signed the agreement on behalf of the Enugu State Government while the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, signed on behalf of the agency during the ceremony held at the Kano Hall, Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

The signing of the agreement between the Enugu State Government and the NSIA was witnessed by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Chief Miletus Eze, the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Enugu, Prof. Malachy Okwueze and the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Emmanuel Ikechukwu Obi.

With the successful signing of the agreement, the Enugu State Medical Diagnostic Centre, Enugu will now be known as Medical Diagnostic and Oncology (Cancer) Treatment Centre.

Speaking during the event, the Managing Director of the NSIA, Mr. Orji, disclosed that the agency signed lease and collaboration agreements for the expansion of diagnostic services with three state governments (Enugu, Kwara and Kaduna) and five federal establishments, including oncology (cancer) treatment services with Enugu State.

Mr. Orji stated that the three state governments that participated in the exercise (Enugu, Kwara and Kaduna) had expedited action on negotiations with the NSIA and reached the stage of signing agreements. 

He revealed that funds will be deployed to build, equip, maintain and operate modern health facilities across the country, adding that “these investments are expected to build new or upgrade institutions to modern medical diagnostic centres and provide access to advanced healthcare services for the benefit of lower income families with limited access to care and significantly enhance Nigeria’s ability to treat life threatening Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).”

In her remarks, Gov. Ugwuanyi’s representative, Hon. Mrs. Ezeilo, thanked the NSIA for the opportunity given to Enugu State to benefit from the healthcare expansion initiative.

She pointed out that the initiative is in tandem with the state government’s vision and commitment to quality healthcare service delivery for the people of Enugu State and beyond.

Hon. Mrs. Ezeilo commended Gov. Ugwuanyi for the landmark achievement as well as his dexterity, foresight and frantic efforts towards providing healthcare facilities for the people of the state, stressing that the governor has done so much in the health sector, likewise in other sectors, in spite of the state’s lean resources and the nation’s economic, security and public health challenges.