Stop illegal visits to PHCs, Osun govt warns reinstated LG chairmen

Osun State Government has cautioned the reinstated local government chairmen on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) against intimidating health workers through illegal visits to Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) and disruption of medical services.

The government maintained that no local government official has the authority to inspect or interfere with the operations of our PHCs without express approval from the Primary Healthcare Board in Osogbo.

The Special Adviser on Public Health to Governor Ademola Adeleke, Dr Akindele Adekunle, in a statement, accused APC local government chairmen of creating an atmosphere of insecurity around PHCs by moving around with armed thugs to create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity.

While condemning the visits, the government explained that “any genuine inquiry regarding healthcare administration should be directed to the appropriate authorities and not through unlawful, politically motivated intrusions.”

“We have received credible reports that one of the illegal chairmen, Mr. Lanre Balogun from Ilesa East Local Government, on Wednesday, conducted an unauthorized so-called “working visit” to several Public Health Centres, including Okeoye PHC (Ward 8), Irojo PHC (Ward 9), Okesa PHC (Ward 7), Ilemo PHC (Ward 4), and Ijamo PHC (Ward 5).

“We want to make it abundantly clear that Osun people must hold these APC operatives accountable for any harm inflicted on our healthcare workers or disruption of medical services. The state government will not fold its arms while political desperadoes put the lives of innocent citizens at risk.”

Reacting to the development, the director of media and information of the APC in Osun State, Kola Olabisi, said the needless alarm raised by Adeleke’s Special Adviser on Public Health, indicated that the government had no respect for the rule of law and pained by the Court of Appeal recent judgment, which reinstated councils’ chairmen elected on the platform of the party.

Olabisi in a statement on Friday said, “We are not bothered that you mischievously described the councilors that accompanied the executive chairman to the project as ‘thugs’ to call a dog a bad name to hang it.

“We are not undaunted by the Adeleke man false alarm as his lies, as usual, could neither fly nor sit because of their unreliability. Dr Adekunle should learn how to live with the reinstated local government council chairmen across the state as he would live to witness more of such supervision of the government projects by them across the state,” he said.