• Urges governor to declare state of emergency in health sector
• Frowns on public sales of caskets within UNIMEDTH premises

The Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ondo State Council, has lamented the deteriorating facilities within the health sector of the state, stressing that the situation calls for immediate attention.

The union, while urging the governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, to, as a matter of urgency, declare a state of emergency over the development, advised him to pay an unscheduled visit to the state-owned hospitals to witness the deplorable facilities firsthand.

According to the NUJ, in a communiqué issued after its monthly congress at the Press Centre, Alagbaka, Akure, patients seeking to access healthcare have continued to be subjected to traumatic experiences.

In the communiqué signed by Jacob Akintunde, Olayinka Ogunleye and Babatunde Ayedoju, the union equally frowned on the public sales of coffins at the premises of the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), Akure Annex.

It, therefore, called for measures to be taken against the siting of the mortuary opposite the Out-Patient Department (OPD), which is also close to the emergency unit of the UNIMEDTH.

Meanwhile, the NUJ has expressed satisfaction with the swift response of Aiyedatiwa over the recent security challenges in the state, particularly the setting up of a joint task force on security, but urged the state government to provide security agencies, including the state security network, codenamed Amotekun Corps, with necessary vehicles, drones, trackers and other logistics to enable them to combat crimes effectively.

The union, however, applauded Aiyedatiwa for approving the recruitment of teachers for primary and secondary schools in the state, urging the political class to ensure that those employed are deployed to the rural areas.