The Yobe State Commissioner of Home Affairs, Information and Culture, Hon. Abdullahi Bego, has said that due to many cases of Kidney disease mostly recorded in Jakusko, Nguru, Gashua, Yusufari, and some other communities in the northern parts of the state, Governor Mai Mala Buni came up with free treatment for all patients to save lives.
He disclosed that over 600 patients receive treatment on a monthly basis at the Yobe State University Teaching Hospital (YSUTH), which was initiated by the former Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, and consolidated by the present administration of Governor Buni.
Bego disclosed this in an interactive session with journalists at the end of the 2-Day Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) 2025 Quarterly Strategy Meeting of Commissioners for the information of all Progressive Governors ‘ Congress, APC-governed states, which took place in Maiduguri on Thursday.
He admitted that, “Yobe state has many cases of kidney disease, as most of the communities on the shores of Yobe/Kumadugu River in the northern part of the state suffered most”.
To address the root cause of the incident, the Commissioner pointed out that, the Yobe State Government has established Biomedical Science Research and Training Centre located at the College of Medical Science, Yobe State University, fully equipped with modern equipment worth billions of naira, even as it is also collaborating with University of Sussex, United Kingdom and some Researchers, including a US-based Dr. Mahmoud Bukar Maina, a British-Nigerian neuroscientist and educator whose research is focused on the cellular and molecular pathogenesis in Alzheimer’s disease.
According to Bego, the impact of the state government’s initiative goes beyond providing immediate relief and medical consumables and delves into the causes of the kidney disease epidemic.
He also explained that Governor Buni, who has since declared a State of Emergency in the health sector, has constructed over 400 beds at Mamman Ali Maternal and Child Complex, which former President Muhammadu Buhari had previously commissioned.
He added that the state-of-the-art facility located within the premises of YSUTH is not only saving millions of lives but also serving as a referral and research centre in addressing maternal mortality in the North East region.
On social infrastructures, especially roads and drainage networks within rural and urban centres, the Commissioner said, “Apart from the ongoing construction of a multi-billion-dollar flyover within Damaturu metropolis, the state government has completed the rehabilitation of key roads such as Katarko-Goniri and Siminti-Godowoli.
Other interventions were the Geidam-Bukarti, Bayamari-Yunusari, and Yunusari-Kanamma roads, the Damaturu-Kalallawa 25.5-kilometre dual carriageway, facilitating access to the Muhammadu Buhari International Cargo Airport, and the dualization of the Abattoir Junction-New Bye-pass Roundabout on Potiskum road to manage high traffic volumes.
“Additional projects are the construction of roads connecting various communities, such as Damagum-Gubana, Bulanguwa-Kumagannam, Nguru-Bulanguwa, Danchuwa-Garin Abba-Garin Bingel, Chumbusko-Tagali, Nguru Highway-Karasuwa Galu town, Fika-Maluri, Jaji Maji-Karasuwa town, and Kukuri-Chukuriwa-Dawasa, among others”, Bego stated.
Similarly, the Commissioner further explained that Governor Buni expended N3.5 billion in building four Ultramodern Sesame Seed Cleansing, Processing, and Packaging factories across the state.
He said these factories are located in Machina, Potiskum, Nguru, and Damaturu local government areas, as Yobe state is the largest producer of Sesame seeds in Nigeria.
