Building Collapse: Victims Applaud FCTA For Settling Medical Bills  

Some victims rescued from the collapsed building in Garki village, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for offsetting their medical bills.

The victims expressed gratitude when the acting secretary of FCT Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS) Mr Malan Haruna visited them on Saturday.

LEADERSHIP had earlier reported that a two-storey building located at Lagos Street in Garki Village collapsed on Wednesday, killing two persons with 37 others evacuated to different hospitals for treatment.

The FCT minister who visited the scene on Thursday directed the FCT Administration to settle all the medical bills of the victims, receiving treatment in different hospitals in the FCT.

Responding to the gesture, the victims said they were well taken care of since the minister declared that their medical bills would be paid by the government.

One of the victims, Mr Abdullahi Modibbo, who is receiving treatment at Asokoro District Hospital, Abuja, said he has not paid any amount following the minister’s declaration.

Modibbo thanked the minister for the support, which he described as life-saving, adding that health workers were taking very good care of him.

“I was in my room on the first floor when the building collapsed on Wednesday night. I was trying to help myself when a boulder fell on my leg, causing a fracture.

“I am happy with the prompt response of government agencies who evacuated us and took us to the hospital for treatment, and now they have offered to pay all our bills. I am truly grateful,” he said.

Also, the Chief Nursing Officer at the hospital, Mrs Aishatu Tenebe, said eight victims were brought to the facility of which seven were treated and discharged.

Another victim Mr. Garba Nagoma, at Cedarcrest Hospital Gwarinpa, was elated when he learned that his hospital bills would be settled by the government on the directive of the government, saying that his brother had already deposited N500,000 to the hospital as the first bill.

“This is good news knowing that my bills would be paid by the government. I am grateful for the support,” he said.

The victim said that he visited his friend who resides on the first floor of the building when it collapsed.

“We were having a conversation when one of our friends alerted us that the building was about to collapse. We dashed to escape but we were late. The building collapsed with us while we were still on the first floor, and I survived with a fracture,” he said.

The Group Managing Director of the Hospital, Dr. Kingsley Ikpe, said that Nagoma was the only victim who was brought to the hospital and assured that the hospital would provide the needed care to the victim.

Speaking at the end of the visit, the HHSS boss, Mr. Malan Noel Haruna, said he and his team visited the hospitals at the directive of the minister.

Haruna recalled that Wike had directed the FCTA to settle the medical bills of all those affected, “so we are here in compliance with his directive.

“We have gone round some of the hospitals and we have seen their condition on the instruction of the minister to ensure that they are well taken care of.

“So far, four victims are still receiving treatment in hospitals, 31 have been treated and discharged, while two have died.

“We have directed the victims to write the bills and forward them through FCT Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to the health secretariat for onward submission to the Permanent Secretary.

“The quality of services we have seen is very excellent as testified by the victims themselves,” he said.