Kwara Govt Awards N12.4bn Civil Service Clinic Extension Contract To Craneburg

Kwara State Government Huge awarded a new multi-storey hospital complex at the popular Civil Service Clinic to craneburg construction at N12.4billion.

The State Commissioner for Communications, Mrs Bola Olukoju disclosed in a statement issued on Saturday in Ilorin.

According to her, the massive building, which will eat up the existing structure and extend beyond it, comes amid incredible population growth and rising needs for quality secondary health services in the capital city.

The multi-storey facility will also decongest the swelling traffic from the General Hospital Ilorin, which has now become a tertiary hospital to train student doctors from the Kwara State University (KWASU).

At the cabinet meeting where an approval was secured for the project, Commissioner for Health Dr. Amina Ahmed el-Imam said the facility is required as the current physical infrastructure at the civil service clinic “deserves both renewal and expansion in order to sustain the desired high quality of service and high patronage from the public”.

Olukoju added that such expansion will “mitigate the space constraints experienced currently which has hampered its functionality to meet up with the growing demands for basic health care services”.

The government has officially shut down the civil service clinic as the construction work gets underway, with its in-patients already transferred to some other government facilities, especially Sobi Specialist Hospital at Alagbado in Ilorin.

Speaking at the recent council meeting, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq said the new civil service hospital will have world-class facilities and compete with any well-run private facilities, adding: “There is a need for better and well-equipped facilities with modern x-ray equipment. What we are trying to do is to build a world-class hospital and remove the psychological inertia associated with (the poor state of) public facilities. We are trying to put in place something you can or differentiate from what you can access in private facilities in terms of the quality of care and facilities. The area it serves includes GRA down to Amoyo and others. There is clearly a need to provide a new facility to serve a growing population in the capital city. This will serve the population from GRA down to Amoyo area.”

 

Acting on a memorandum read by the Commissioner for Works and Transport Engr Abdulquawiy Olododo, the cabinet had also approved the rehabilitation works and upgrade of the road connecting Post Office, Emir’s Road, and Isale Oja, completely changing the outlook of the entire stretch.

The council had also approved different agricultural programmes totalling N2.9bn to support wet season farming among genuine farmers who are properly registered and boost food security, including N1.4bn worth of fertilizers and N567m seed and agrochemical inputs, and clearing of 715 hectares of farmlands at the special agroprocessing zone and another 714 hectares of farmlands at Malete Integrated Youth Farm Training Centre.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Mrs Oloruntoyosi Thomas told the council that these interventions are necessary to boost food security in the state.

“Investment in high quality seeds, fertilisers, and agro-chemicals seek to improve crop yields, promote crop diversification, and ultimately contribute to the economic growth of Kwara State,” she said.

“Council may further wish to note that timely access to these agricultural inputs is essential for the success for the success of the 2024 wet season farming. Prompt support will play a crucial role in mitigating crop losses, thereby securing better yields and enhancing food security across the state.”