The Federal Government has inaugurated an ultra modern mortuary complex at the Ebonyi Government owned Umuezoka General Hospital at Umuezoka community in Ezza North Local Government Area.
The project was built and donated to the community by the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF) as part of its corporate social responsibility to the people.
The project was inaugurated on Saturday, at Ekwetekwe community in Ezza North LGA by Mr Tosin Adeyanju, the Executive Secretary of the Fund.
According to Adeyanju, the project is built by the percentage of proceeds from the betting that the federal government collected and used same to intervene in critical areas such as; health, sports, education, water, disaster management, environment and vulnerable Nigerians.
“What it means is that a small percentage of revenue from the bettings that you do comes to government and when it comes to government, what government do is to go back to the country and help the communities that need health facility, education facility among others.
“In Ebonyi alone, we have implemented several of such intervention projects including; provision of sporting equipment to 63 schools across Ebonyi, provided vital medical equipment to Umuezoka General Hospital.
“We have built and donated mortuary facilities to three General Hospitals in Ebonyi before now as well as donated COVID-19 text kits and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to the Alex Ekwueme Federal Teaching Hospital.
“We have donated sporting materials to communities in Ezza and Ikwo LGAs as well, donated vital medical equipment to some primary healthcare facilities in the state among other interventions.
“Today, we add another milestone to the donations of vital medical equipment we have donated to the hospital, in this hospital alone, we have donated digital ultra sound, x-ray and suction machines among others,” Adeyanju said.
He said that the intervention initiative was part of the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of President Bola Tinubu led administration designed to provide social and economic succour to the people of Nigeria.
The Executive Secretary who also hailed the giant strides of the Gov. Francis Nwifuru’s led state government in areas infrastructure and human capital development urged the people to protect, secure and guide every infrastructure put in place by the government in their area.
“We appeal to community leaders to take ownership of this support by Mr President and guide it against vandalism,” he said.
Meanwhile, Chief William Alo, a retired permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy said that the fund had implemented a number of projects in the state.
Alo, an indigene of Ekwetekwe community commended President Tinubu for siting the project in the community adding that the mortuary complex was an extension of the Umuezoka General Hospital.
He stressed that the facility would reduce the burden and cost of going to Abakaliki and other other distant places to deposit corpses by the people.
He, however requested for the sinking of motorised bolehole in the mortuary complex as well as procurement of ambulance for use in the mortuary.
Dr Moses Ekuma, Commissioner for Health in Ebonyi expressed gratitude to the National Lottery Trust Fund for building and donating the mortuary to the state.
He said that state government would ensure that the benefitting community would protect and secure the facility against any form of vandalism.
“We are happy with the Federal government for donating this project to our state and we are assuring that we are going to make judicious use of the facility and ensure that it is secured from being vandalised,” Ekuma said.
In a similar vein, the traditional ruler of Ekwetekwe community, HRH, Samuel Ofiagu said that the community would take every measure required to protect and secure the facility.
“We are promising that the facility will be taken care of seriously and no harm will be allowed to be done on the facility or any equipment within the mortuary complex,” Ofiagu said. ENDS//
