By Winnie Onu, Makurdi
The Benue State Government has commenced the rehabilitation of 98 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
Special Adviser to Governor Hyacinth Alia on Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs (BLGCA), Mr. Denen Aondoakaa, disclosed this while briefing journalists in Makurdi.
He said the project, being carried out under the World Bank-assisted IMPACT Project Nigeria, is aimed at ensuring that rural communities have access to functional health facilities.
“We are renovating 98 PHCs under the IMPACT Project. Each local government has three to four PHCs. We want to ensure that when a woman walks into a PHC, someone is there to attend to her,” Aondoakaa explained.
He added that staff quarters and residential buildings for local government chairmen and Directors of General Services and Administration (DGSAs) are also being renovated to encourage officials to remain in their areas of assignment instead of relocating to urban centres.
On security, Aondoakaa noted that some communities in the state remain inaccessible due to persistent attacks, but assured that the government is working with security agencies to restore peace.
He reiterated that the state’s anti-open grazing law remains in force, stressing that any cattle not ranched in the state are in violation of the law.
