By Musa Baba Adamu
Senate has passed the Bill for the establishment of a Federal Medical Center (FMC) Adikpo in Benue state sponsored by Senator Emmanuel Udende .
The Bill whose third and final reading was unanimously approved by the Senate in a Committee of the Whole seeks to establish a federal medical center in Adikpo that will not only carter for the health needs of the people of Benue North East senatorial zone but Benue state and Nigeria in general and beyound .
The Bill awaiting presidential assent seeks bring medical care closer to the people especially in times of emergency according to the sponsor.
According to him, the Bill came on the heels of the amendment to the Federal Medical Centre’s Act of 2022 .
According to Senator Udende the distance between Adikpo , a Nigerian boarder town and Makurdi the state capital with a Federal Medical Centre covers over 300 kilometers and places patients who need medical care on a danger line, hence his resolve to use the instrumentality of the parliament to address the troubling health challenge .
He explained that the people of Kwande who share boundaries with Republic of Cameroon most often are required to seek medical attention outside their country and in most cases are frustrated or cannot afford the cost .
According to senator Udende who represents Benue North East,the strategic location of the health facility will provides potential economic benefits of trade and cultural exchange giving its proximity of the Republic of Cameroon .
He stressed that the Federal Medical Centre will also trigger infrastructure development , healthcare and and open up the locality in terms of education.
He expressing concerns that the absence of such institutions on the side of the Nigerian boarder town has grossly caused underdevelopment and commended the for responding positively and timely to the plight of his people .
He also commended the senate committee on Health and tertiary institutions for conducting public hearing that gave rise to the final parliamentary journey of the bill.
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