Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has taken a bold step in his healthcare reforms by functionalising the Okpuhu Nkpa and Umuenyere Alayi Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Bende Local Government Area. This brings the total number of PHCs revived under his Project Ekwueme initiative to 42.
Speaking at the event, the governor — represented by the Commissioner for Health, Professor Enoch Oggbonnaya Uche — described the move as the end of more than 24 years of neglect in the state’s healthcare sector. He highlighted that his administration is focused on delivering modern healthcare infrastructure to the people of Abia.
The newly upgraded centres are now equipped with modern facilities including multi-parameter monitors, automatic external defibrillators, incubators, oxygen cylinders, and oxygen delivery devices.
Governor Otti also disclosed that his government has approved the establishment of an Isolation Centre at the historic Uzuakoli Leprosy Centre, to handle isolation cases more effectively.
However, the governor made headlines with a strong warning against traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and those who patronise them. He vowed that his administration would soon arrest TBAs and their clients, stressing that unskilled deliveries remain a major cause of maternal deaths in Nigeria.
“Nigeria contributes 29 per cent of maternal mortality in the world. One of the major causes is delivery by unskilled workers, including traditional birth attendants who are not trained or certified. We cannot continue to lose mothers and babies this way,” Otti said.
Meanwhile, an indigene of Alayi and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, assured residents that the newly functionalised centres will be safeguarded against vandalism.
The development has sparked conversations across the state — while many laud Otti’s reforms as timely, others believe his stance on traditional birth attendants could stir controversy in rural communities where such practices are still deeply rooted.
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