Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State on Tuesday described
the report that over $30 billion had been expended in the fight against HIV/AIDS
in the state as alarming.
Speaking when the United States Ambassador to
Nigeria, Stuart Symington, paid him a courtesy call at the Government House in Uyo,
the state capital, the governor expressed doubt that such a huge amount of
money was spent without any verifiable records nor input from the relevant
agencies in the state.
According to him, “I would like to be shown the hospital
where such facilities were donated or the equipment that were procured because
no one has shown me any such intervention.”
Emmanuel harped on accountability, accuracy and
transparency in the records and expenditure of funds allocated for the
programme, promising to set effective machinery to ensure the success of the
programme in the state.
He also
urged the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) to
collaborate with health personnel in the state, saying with the health care
facilities on the ground, Akwa Ibom State best suits the pilot scheme, as he
thanked the US for choosing the state for the programme.
The governor said his administration is ready to
partner the US in healthcare and other developments’ efforts aimed at making
life meaningful to humanity.
He added that his administration has invested so
much to transform the healthcare delivery system in the state, adding that no
purpose-driven government can talk about human capital development without a
functional healthcare system.
Emmanuel expressed appreciation to the US and its
development agencies for their vision to partner the state in the fight against
HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, promising to ensure that the state, and
neighbouring communities which interface with the state in commercial
activities, actively participate in the drive.
“As a border
state in the coastal region, there is an influx of people from other states and
countries into the state to transact in various opportunities like fishing and
other ventures, so we will partner the US Government to meet this target you
have set,” he said.
Earlier, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Symington,
had lauded the governor for the high premium placed on healthcare delivery
system and his efforts at transforming the secondary health centres to meet
international standards.
He said the achievements of Emmanuel could be seen
in the new improved healthcare delivery system, agriculture, industrialisation
and educational development, which he said contributed to the re-election of
the governor for the second term.
Symington said the visit which is his last as the ambassador
to Nigeria was to intimate the government and people of the state of the US
contributions to stem the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to provide necessary assistance
to those who are infected through the provision of drugs, equipment and personnel to help
humanity.
“All the amenities, the good roads, the new
industries and the schools I have seen would not be appreciated if the people
are not healthy to make use of them,” the ambassador noted.
He, therefore, sued for collaboration to stem the
tide of the HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, pledging his (US) government
readiness to partner the state in education, healthcare, agriculture and commerce.
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