Senator builds hospital, donates to FG

The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, yesterday commissioned an 80-bed space hospital built by Senator Mohammad Hassan (PDP, Yobe South) in honour of his close confidant who died in an accident.

Saraki commissioned the hospital in Potiskum, Yobe State yesterday. The hospital which the senator said was built from his personal savings was handed over to the federal government.

Hassan, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on FCT, said, “my decision to build the hospital was not predicated on my winning election, but motivated by the automobile accident I had during the campaign towards the 2015 election in which one of my confidants died and five of my ribs were broken. With the accident, I was faced with the reality of the dilapidated state of medical facilities in our senatorial district.

“Today, by the grace of Allah, I have completed the construction of an 80-bed hospital in Potiskum, furnished with beds, drugs, laboratory equipment and other medical consumables”.

Speaking during the commissioning, Saraki urged the federal government, states and local governments to ensure efficiency in all healthcare facilities across the country for the benefit of the masses.

He noted that with the hospital, the residents of Potiskum will no longer need to travel to neighbouring states for treatment.

“I implore the Ministry of Health to ensure that this hospital continues to receive priority attention both in management and in resource. I expect that this hospital will be run with the highest degree of efficiency possible; and to the good people of Potiskum, I encourage you to use this hospital and demand efficiency in service from the management,” he said.