By Opeyemi Gbemiro
Dr Muazu Omeiza, Executive Director of the Kogi State Primary Health Care Development Agency, has lauded Gov. Ahmed Ododo for fulfilling his pledge of cash rewards to outstanding health officers.
Omeiza gave the commendation in Lokoja during the presentation of cheques at the Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge Awards, organised to recognise high-performing local government health authorities and personnel.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that cheques were presented to seven Local Government Health Authorities, seven Officers-in-Charge, and one Health Management Information System officer, who received N250,000 each.
Ogori-Magongo Local Government Area emerged overall best, receiving N5 million, while Mopamuro, Ogori-Magongo, and Bassa LGAs placed first and received N3 million each for their performance in the assessment exercise.
Kogi, Ofu, and Ajaokuta LGAs emerged second, receiving N2 million each, as part of efforts to encourage improved service delivery and strengthen primary healthcare systems across the state.
Omeiza also commended the Commissioner for Health, Dr Abdulazeez Adeiza, for his role in facilitating the successful disbursement and his continued guidance in advancing the agency’s programmes.
He emphasised that the Primary Health Care Leadership Challenge was a continuous, performance-driven initiative aimed at sustaining excellence and improving accountability among health workers and local government health authorities across the state.
According to him, health workers must remain committed, as their performance, responsiveness to emergencies, work ethic, and timeliness in data submission will continue to be closely monitored.
He said the initiative served as a platform for strengthening local government and community ownership of primary healthcare services, ensuring greater participation and accountability at the grassroots level.
Omeiza said that funding support from the Federal Government and the World Bank was aimed at revitalising health facilities, improving infrastructure, and enhancing the quality of healthcare service delivery statewide.
He emphasised that achieving improved health outcomes required collective efforts of stakeholders, including local government chairmen, traditional rulers, and religious leaders working together to support healthcare initiatives.
Addressing awardees, he said the funds were strictly meant to improve primary healthcare delivery, adding that implementation of submitted work plans would be closely monitored for accountability and compliance.
He warned that any deviation from approved plans would attract sanctions, noting that the work plans were jointly developed and endorsed by local government chairmen to ensure smooth implementation.
Clarifying the second category of awardees, Omeiza explained that cash rewards to Officers-in-Charge and the HMIS officer were based on merit and dedication, and were strictly personal recognitions.
He assured stakeholders that a monitoring team had been established in line with the governor’s directives to ensure strict compliance, transparency, and accountability in the utilisation of the disbursed funds.
In his remarks, the National Coordinator, Mr Shola Babatunde, commended the state government and health authorities for creating an enabling environment for healthcare delivery to thrive across Kogi.
He urged health workers to remain committed to their duties, stressing the importance of integrity, professionalism, and dedication in sustaining improved healthcare outcomes in the state.
Babatunde also charged award recipients to uphold the standards that earned them recognition and to serve as role models and mentors to other health workers in their respective facilities.
In their remarks, beneficiaries, Mr Emmanuel Ohmei and Mr Umar Jatto, expressed gratitude to the government for recognising their contributions and pledged to redouble efforts in their duties.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng).
Edited by Abiemwense Moru
