The Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District, Senator Babajide Omoworare has described the fulfilment of constitutional provision by President Muhammadu Buhari, by handing over power to his vice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo before his medical sojourn abroad as a confirmation of advancement in democratic ideologies in Nigeria.
Omoworare added that the gesture had set an enviable pace in the quest for democratic principles and rule of law in Nigeria, saying “the culture of colonizing power by the incumbent president while away has been eroded.
Omoworare dropped the hint at the weekend, during a free health care programme by the lawmaker, organised for the people of Ile-Ife, where over 2500 people benefited.
The free health care delivery cut across all categories, including medical examinations, administration of drugs, ophthalmological session, and vaccination.
The health programme, tagged ‘Ilera Loro’ also covered diabetics, renal failure, malaria and dental test, and in collaboration with doctors from Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, under the guise of Association of Resident Doctors(ARD).
Omoworare said he organized the free health programme to assist the less privilege in the society by enhancing accessibility to medical care and providing opportunity for them to know their medical status.
According to the senator, majority of people could not go to the hospital for medical test because they could not afford the medical charge, hence his resolve to put in place the free health programme to address their various challenges.
Speaking on the Nigeria’s health sector, Omoworare lamented that healthcare delivery in Nigeria was short of a reliable health system that Nigerians could boast of.
He decried medical tourism abroad by Nigerians, admitting that there is lack of confidence in Nigeria’s health sector, which necessitated the need for those that could afford the cost to seek for medical treatment abroad.
He attributed poor budget provision, training of medical personnel, absence of systematic healthcare delivery and corruption to the poor state of Nigeria’s health sector.
The Senator disclosed that the National Assembly was working with the executive arm of government to make sure that health sector gets substantive amount in the 2017 budget, disclosing that the initial budget for the sector was rejected by the legislature because the amount was low.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Association of Residents Doctors, OAUTHC, Dr Taofeek Akiniyi, who led the medical team for the programme, encouraged people to embark on regular medical test, saying early discovery of ailment and disease remained the best practice for healthy living.