The Nigeria Customs Service, Port Harcourt II Area Command, has reconstructed and equipped the vandalised and abandoned Primary Healthcare Centre in Ebubu, Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The facility, which had reportedly been looted, vandalised and left abandoned for several years, was commissioned on Tuesday by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi.
Speaking at the commissioning, the Executive Chairman of Eleme Local Government Area, Chief Hon. Obarilomate Ollor, commended the Customs Service for intervening to restore the health facility.
Ollor, who was represented by the Vice Chairman, Hon. Virtue Joseph Ekee, described the project as a significant investment in the health and wellbeing of the people of Ebubu and the wider Eleme community.
Ekee said the rehabilitation would improve access to basic healthcare services, particularly for women, children, elderly people and other vulnerable residents who require medical services close to their homes.
She noted that a functional primary healthcare centre was critical to any community as the first point of contact for maternal and child healthcare, immunisation, disease prevention, health education, early diagnosis and treatment of common ailments.
The Vice Chairman assured the Customs Service and residents of Ebubu that the local government would work with the community and relevant stakeholders to ensure the facility was properly maintained, protected and continuously improved.
She also commended the Area Comptroller, Nigeria Customs Service, Area II Command, Onne, Aliyu Akali, for his support and commitment to the project.
Ekee urged residents to take ownership of the facility and protect it from vandalism, misuse and criminal activities.
Commissioning the facility, Adeniyi reaffirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Customs Service to strengthening its relationship with host communities through interventions capable of making direct and sustainable impact on the lives of residents.
He explained that the Ebubu healthcare project was undertaken under the Service’s broader community development intervention, the Customs Care initiative.
According to him, the initiative covers critical areas including healthcare, education, agriculture, food distribution, economic empowerment, livelihood support, community development and solar lighting.
The Comptroller-General urged members of the community to take collective responsibility for safeguarding the facility and to promptly report suspicious persons or criminal activities around the premises to security agencies.
The renovated centre is now equipped with a new ambulance, functional closed-circuit television cameras, a digital filing system and wireless intercom.
The facility also boasts a well-equipped theatre, laboratory with a blood-bank refrigerator, furnished doctors’ quarters, a 45KVA solar power system and a 100KVA soundproof generator.
Other facilities include furnished and equipped wards, offices, consulting rooms and pharmacy.
Speaking on behalf of the Ebubu community, the Oneh-Eh Eta Odido and Paramount Ruler of Ebubu, His Royal Highness, Emere Godwin Chinwi, expressed appreciation to the Nigeria Customs Service and Adeniyi for the intervention.
Chinwi said the project would not only improve the physical infrastructure of the healthcare centre but also reduce the burden on residents who previously had to travel considerable distances to access basic medical services.
He added that improved access to healthcare would contribute to efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality in the community.
The traditional ruler assured the Customs Service that the community would protect and safeguard the facility, describing it as a valuable contribution to the wellbeing and development of Ebubu.
In recognition of his contribution to the community, the Ebubu community conferred on Adeniyi the traditional title of Emere Owe’sen Obo’r Ru Eta I of Ebubu, Eleme, meaning “a king who helps his community.”
Chinwi said the conferment was an expression of the community’s gratitude and a symbolic gesture aimed at strengthening the relationship between the Nigeria Customs Service and the people of Ebubu.
Also present at the commissioning were the representative of the Executive Secretary of the Rivers State Primary Healthcare Management Board, Dr Lawson Jack; the Councillor representing Ward 4, Ebubu, Rt. Hon. Amejima Obo Olako; appointees of the Eleme Local Government Council; the Eleme Youth President; community leaders and other dignitaries.
