Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, on Friday in Maiduguri, handed over 81 units of three-bedroom apartments along with cheques worth a total of N79m to 81 resident medical doctors in the State.
Each of the doctors was given a tastefully built flat at a quarters specifically built for medical doctors in 13 blocks of two-storey buildings with each block having six flats.
The quarters was fully fenced, landscaped, flowered and provided with sporting facilities and playground.
The 13 blocks at the quarters have combined number of 78 flats while another story building sited at Muhammadu Shuwa memorial hospital has three additional flats, making 81 flats.
Two out of the 81 flats were fully furnished while 79 were yet to be furnished.
Zulum presented cheques worth N1m each as furnishure support to 79 doctors who were allocated the 79 unfurnished flats.
One of the beneficiaries of the 81 flats was Dr Bulama Gaidam, currently in captivity of the ISWAP terrorist group.
Gaidam was abducted on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 in Gubio, where he was serving as principal medical officer of the General Hospital.
Speaking to wife of the abducted medical doctor, Zulum consoled her and strengthened her hope that she will reunite with her husband one day.
The governor assured all the 81 doctors who benefitted that government will make some efforts to support them with standby generator for the quarters.
He, however, urged the doctors to form a residents association through which they can make contributions to find ways of sustaining facilities at the estate, and enhancing their communal safety.
Zulum promised that more doctors who were not among the 81 beneficiaries will be supported in other ways in government’s continued drive to improve the welfare of medical doctors for better service delivery that saves and improve human lives.
It would be recalled that the Doctors’ Quarters was commissioned by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on February 24, 2022, after which modalities were put in place for consultative selection and allocation to benefiting doctors.
The VP commissioned the flats while in Maiduguri to launch Borno’s edition of the Federal Government’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Clinic.
Meanwhile, during his handover of the 81 flats and cheques to the medical doctors, Governor Zulum directed the provision of two buses for permanent stationing at the quarters for transportation of the doctors to hospitals for healthcare services.
In their appreciation, a representative of the medical doctors pledged that they will reciprocate by improving their medical services to patients at their respective hospitals.
