*By David Uka, Abakaliki*
The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Ebonyi State Governor on Welfare and Religion, Very Rev. Fr. Dr. Abraham Nwali says Ebonyi state has the highest number of eye problems in the South East.
Fr Nwali who is also the Chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ebonyi State chapter revealed this in an interview with select journalists in Abakaliki .
Nwali who attributed the increase of eye problems in the state to unproductive harvest of stone and lead said the government through his office has treated about 1,150 eye patients and spent over N1.48bn on welfare for widows and Ministers of God.
“l imagined myself and said that means that if we have 2000 blind Eboyians, the economy is crippled. I had to go finding out what are the reasons why there is great increase in eye problems in the state”.
“The Indians, the Americans, the Sudanese and the Chinese that work with the the hospital made us to know that the presence of lead and the volcanic eruption plus the stones is increasing a lot of lead in the air. And our people go directly harvest these stones and crushing them without protecting their sensitive organs and they enter directly into their eyes and since they cannot be removed, cleansed or blown they form eye debris and before they know it, they are clouded and affect their sight”.
“Ebonyi state has the highest number of eye problems in the South East now because of the stones, and the lead. As you don’t clean them on time, they will end up besides glycoma, caterat, result to chronic eye infection”.
“We have continued till last Tuesday such that every Tuesday, minimum of two buses go to EFETHA with the sick people. We don’t ask anybody where he is coming from or which denomination. We convey everybody who comes here every Tuesday to Ugbodo for free treatment”.
“The fact that you have eye problem, the Ebonyi state government courtesy of His Excellency will write off all the bills”.
He said also that the government has attended and visited many hospitals including Mile four hospital and paid the bill of all the mothers who have been given birth and are unable to pay.
” We have visited the hospital up to the last two weeks and in each visit, we spent over one million naira in paying hospital bills of indigent mothers”.
“What does that mean? We have reduced the morbidity and mortality rates. Our mother die trying to give birth. In the past, the story has continued to remain that our mothers in the rural areas die in an effort to deliver. Instead of giving thanks to God for a new birth, will end up having deaths. But now they know that if they succeed in reaching mile four they will be attended to and the bill will be waiting for the State Government courtesy of His Excellency, Engr. Chief David Umahi and Her Excellency,Chief Mrs Rachel Umahi. So, that has been our second achievements”.
“When we started we discovered that the N20m was not enough to attend to even two hospitals in a month and what are they? Each you visit Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (l) and Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (ll) including today, you discover that they have backload of indebted patients to tune of N39m and we now made it known to his Excellency. And in the year 2017, the governor reconsidered and said he will be releasing N58m every month”.
“And from the N58m, CAN and it’s five blocs receive N20m. We now go to school evangelism, praying with widows, psychically challenged and legionaries with N8.270m and then, we have N5m monthly Honorarium for prayers and Ministers of Divine mandate and N5m for CAN.
The remaining is N20m every month. So, naturally, as the voucher comes there is direct deduction of N38.370m. So, we have to play with N20m every month till today”.
“What do we do with this N20m? We are oblige to relate with 6 definite hospitals. Number one is EFETHA and it is the place we look after orthopedic and Eye problems at Ugbodo. Since we took over we have gotten patients and took over about 1,150 patients and two days ago, I just paid them N2.1m”.
We go to Joint hospital Uburu and Matter hospital and the other month, we go to FETHA l & ll. This is how we have been going through with the #20m.
READ ALSO