Abia State Government says its Ministry of Environment has commenced house-to-house sanitary inspection services across the 17 local government areas of the state.
The state Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, disclosed this Monday while briefing newsmen on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting chaired by the state governor, Alex Otti.
Explaining, he stated, “This is in line with the strategic objectives of the Keeping Abia State Clean initiative.
“It is designed to make Abia clean and display at all times the best of hygiene practises. The full task, of course, will be prosecuted in line with Abia State’s environmental laws.”
The Commissioner further disclosed that the State Executive Council has approved Abia State’s Health, Safety and Environment Policy, with a sign-off by the state governor, stating, “this state occupational health, safety and environment policy is a major milestone in the state government’s determination to cater for the health, safety and well-being of the state’s civil servants”.
According to Kanu, the state’s Amnesty Social Health Insurance Scheme enrolment has exceeded its set target for 2025, disclosing,
“Whereas they set a target of 100,000 participants for 2025, by the 17th of August they have surpassed that figure. The current enrolment figure is 103,076 participants.
“This is more than an eloquent endorsement of the scheme by the sector participants, and a display of an abiding trust by the participants that the scheme has the potential to address their most pressing health care needs. So, following the success of the launch of the informal sector insurance scheme, the informal sector enrolment will commence sometime this week.”
Kanu also disclosed, “17 of the completed Primary Healthcare Centres, PHCs have been functionalised and are already providing services in the communities in which they are located. 33 of the completed PHCs are being equipped currently and ready for functionalisation. When completed, this will bring the total number of functionalised PHCs to 50.
“The next batch to be functionalised thereafter will be another 50. And this will form part of the third phase of the completed PHCs to be fully equipped for use by members of the public. The apparent delay in completing this project within the 100 days as conceptualised at the onset is as a result of challenges that bother majorly on the increased scope of work that the project entails in many of the beneficiary communities across the state.
“And also the vagaries of weather and, in one or two instances, contractors’ lapses. The start-off date, of course, is January 2025. And the expected close-out date is October, 2025.
“By that date, it is expected that everything about that project will have been concluded and government will now flag up another phase of the project. Of course, we are aware that the state has 948 PHCs. And strategically, the state government is taking them in batches to bring them back to work. So once this phase is concluded sometime in October, another phase will commence”.
According to the commissioner also, the Abia State Government, through the State Ministers of Industry and small and medium scale enterprises, SMEs, has received the AMCON’s letter of approval for the state to take over the STAR paper mill, stating, “the revitalisation of this moribundbcompany is in line with one of the state government’s economic policies of revitalising moribund companies and selling same to serious and capable investors.
