From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

The Enugu State Police Command has arraigned and remanded Tsehemba Joshua, a 30-year-old male suspect for alleged armed robbery and murder of a 19-year-old scrap scavenger, Yusuf Ibrahim.According to the statement by the Police Public relations officer Enugu State Command headquarters, Daniel Ndukwe said that Joshua is accused of conspiring with two accomplices, currently at large, to rob and strangle the victim.

He has been remanded to the Enugu Correctional Custodial Centre following his court appearance. The suspect was arrested by operatives from the Udenu Police Division of the Command, following a community alert regarding a shallow grave discovered in a bush at Ojo River in Ogbodu-Aba, Obollo Community, Udenu LGA.The suspect confessed to luring the victim under the pretence of selling a scrap motor vehicle propeller before robbing him of N100,000, strangling and burying his body in a shallow grave, on October 2, 2024.After a thorough investigation of the case by the Campus Monitoring/Anti-Cultism Section of the State CID Enugu, the suspect was arraigned and subsequently remanded, pending further court proceedings.

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

Enugu State governor, Dr. Peter Mbah has pledged to make the state the hub of medical tourism and put an end to the exodus of people moving overseas for health services by expediting the completion of the ongoing construction of the 300-bed Enugu International Hospital.

The governor, who made this commitment on Monday in Enugu during the flag off of the state-of-the-art multi-specialty hospital project, stressed that the state was targeting a substantial share of the overseas medical tourism market which is above $1 billion annually. He disclosed that top-notch health professionals living in diaspora were already engaging the state government on areas of collaboration in the health sector, saying the state is open for investment, business and partnership.Mbah, who also called on more health professionals and other investors to see Enugu as a fertile market for business, and assured of returns-on-investment, said the government had already de-risked investment flow and would continue to make the state eco-business friendly with the right incentives.While expressing delight that the project was a reaffirmation of his administration’s commitment to reverse medical tourism overseas, Governor Mbah said the hospital would offer advanced and specialized services, research and training.He said the construction of the international hospital, which had already commenced, would meet the needs of those travelling abroad for healthcare, noting that the administration had committed huge investment in the primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare services.Mbah further stated that the international hospital will also serve as both training and research centre for medical students from the major tertiary institutions in the state as well as ensuring that patients have access to the best healthcare delivery available anywhere in the world.Speaking earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Prof Ikechukwu Obi, extolled the governor over the ongoing revolution in the healthcare sector, saying 260 type-2 and 9 type-3 primary healthcare hospitals undergoing intervention at the primary health level, 22 secondary healthcare facilities receiving cutting-edge attention, with Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital (ESUTH) and the University of Medical and Applied Sciences Teaching Hospital (SUMASTH) as tertiary hospitals, in addition to the international hospital in the state.According to him, the international hospital will offer different medical services as soon as it becomes operational which include, general medicine, emergency department, surgical services, obstetrics and gynaecology, intensive care unit, cardiology, oncology, neurology, radiology and imaging, laboratory services, pharmacy, nutritional services, physical therapy and rehabilitation, biomedical engineering and medical gas production, health information services, among other medical services.Describing the project as one of the landmark initiatives of the Mbah administration, the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Gerald Otiji, as well as the Special Adviser on Project Development and Implementation, Uche Nwatu expressed optimism that the world-class hospital will put the state on the regional and global healthcare map with the capacity to set new benchmarks in medical services, education and research.On the part of the contractor, the chief executive officer of Tanit Medical Engineering, Anthony Nader, promised that the company would deliver the project in record time.Commending Governor Mbah for the laudable project, the Executive Chairman, Enugu North LGA, Dr. Ibenaku Onoh, Chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, Enugu State chapter, Dr. Sunday Okafor, representative of the Ogui Nike community, Hon Emeka Nnamani, former deputy governor of the state, Chief Okechukwu Itanyi, and the State PDP Woman Leader, Peace Patrick, said the hospital would meet the healthcare needs of the country.

From Jude Dangwam, Jos

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang has flagged-off training of professionals in the construction industry as the state is set on massive construction work across the state.The Governor represented by his Deputy Ngo Josephine Piyo declaring the five days training workshop open on Monday at the Millennium International Conference Centre in Jos the Plateau State Capital noted that his administration has allocated the sum of N130 billion to capital expenditure in the 2024 state budget with a view to change the infrastructural status of Plateau State.

According to the Governor, “As key stakeholders, you are undoubtedly aware that the approved state budget for 2024 allocated over N130 billion to capital expenditure.”This investment emphasizes the necessity of strengthening the capabilities of personnel within the relevant MDAs, particularly those involved in procurement and construction practices, to successfully deliver capital projects, maximize their impact, and establish a robust foundation for future developmental initiatives within Plateau State.”The ongoing challenges regarding infrastructure delivery evidenced by issues such as scope creep, cost overruns, and inadequate project risk management have resulted in several failed projects and ensuing governmental losses. “It is important to note that at the beginning of this administration, there were 42 abandoned infrastructural projects amounting to a debt of approximately N47 billion, significantly affecting the state’s standing in contract enforcement evaluations by both the World Bank and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC).” He expressed concern.Mutfwang reiterated that infrastructural development remains a paramount priority of his administration articulated within the Plateau State Development Framework (PSDF) for the period 2023-2027 and charged participants to give their best towards meeting contemporary challenges in the built environment.The Head of Strategy and Results Delivery Office (SRDO)Samari Madibo said the five days’ workshop is targeted at equipping professionals in the construction industry towards providing best physical infrastructure to Plateau people.He said the training of experts in the built environment is aimed at empowering officials with standard best practice to shape Plateau’s future in construction and procurement excellence following gaps identified leading to wastages of taxpayers’ money on government projects over the years.”In the cause of our assessment of the Ministries department and agencies (MDAs) we discovered that one of the gaps is delivery of infrastructure roads and that has to do with capacity as well as ethical problems towards attaining best practice and that is exactly what we want to address.”Nationally, from the metrix of the World Bank and the Presidential Business Enabling Environment Council we are not doing very well in enforcement of contracts and we feel that our professionals should be empowered so that we can deliver quality infrastructure.”The training “Best Practices in Contemporary Construction and Procurement for Plateau State Built Environment Sector” had participants drawn across various ministries, departments and agencies in the state.