Pascal Arogorn Ibe
Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Saka Audu was moved to tears on Wednesday as he inspected the vandalised Kogi State Medical Store complex located in Lokoja, the state capital.
Audu, while addressing journalists in an emotion-laden voice said equipment worth billions of naira were destroyed by the vandals.
According to him, the Kogi State Health sector has lost its medical equipment which includes Magnetic Resonance Imaging Machines (MRI), Computer Tomography Machines, Digital Mammography, Digital Radiography, Test Kits, Drugs, Pharmaceuticals Consumables, Refrigerators for vaccines, Solar Power unit, laboratory equipment, among others.
“We lost the entire contents of Kogi State medical store.
“Equipment worth billions of naira were stolen. Those that couldn’t be stolen, like the walk-in refrigerator for immunisation, where our vaccines are stored, components of our MRI and CT scan were vandalised beyond repair. Others were moved from the store and broke into pieces in nearby bushes.
“It is indeed a very unfortunate development that the state will find it difficult to recover from as we don’t have the capacity to provide what have carted away or vandalised in a short time,” Audu said.
The Commissioner said the state government is currently quantifying the extent of the damage and would eventually make public the list of the stolen items and their cost implications.
The vandalised Kogi State Central medical store complex was built under the essential drugs programme of the state Governor Yahaya Bello.
Drugs and hospital equipment are kept in the store before distributing across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state.
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