The Gas Aggregation Company, Nigeria Limited (GACN), on Monday commenced the rehabilitation of Damangaza Primary Health Centre in Lokogoma, FCT. The Managing Director of GACN, Lekan Ogunleye, who spoke at the inauguration of the project, said the project was part of the company’s corporate social responsibility towards supporting the provision of quality healthcare in the community.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that GACN was incorporated in Nigeria in 2010, for the purpose of stimulating growth of natural gas utilisation. Lekan who decried the dilapidating state of the health centre, said that members of staff of GACN contributed the intervention funds to equip the hospital with basic operating equipment.
“We are just human beings working in this area, and it is important we find out what is going on around our environment. It is important we see in our little way what we can do to support and encourage the people, and that is why we have identified this hospital”
“Our objective is to help in any little way we can to restore the hospital to normal operational condition. It is important that we manage expectations, we will make sure we fix the physical infrastructure with basic hospital operating equipment,’’ Ogunleye said.
He, however, said that the company would monitor the project to ensure quality work was carried out for residents of Damangaza in other to receive treatment in a decent environment.
“By the grace of God within two weeks, the whole place will look different. We hope and aspire that it is not going to be a one-off exercise. Hopefully, next year we would be following up to see how the hospital is fairing,’’ Ogunleye said
He urged other organisations to emulate the company, noting that such interventions were critical in building a balanced society for everyone.
“If we construct a society that is working for just a few, it will never work for everyone,” he stressed
On his part, the Chairman Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Abdullahi Candido, pointed out that many communities within the city were in dire need of such interventions.
The Chairman who was represented by Hajia Binta Dahiru, Supervisory Councillor for Health, AMAC, hailed GACN for the gesture, and appealed to the company to extend the intervention to other communities.
“AMAC cannot do it all alone. That is the reason we need more of this kind of assistance,” he said.
The project consultant, Emmanuel Bako, said the company, among other things, would put in place basic equipment in the labour room to curb maternal and child mortality.
The Etsu of Damangaza, James Budebo, while commending GACN, said the area had been abandoned for a long time before the intervention by the company.
Budebo pledged that the facility would be put to good use to ensure that the people benefitted immensely.