The National Coordinator of Center for Peace and Environmental Justice (CEPEJ), Comr. (Chief) Sheriff Mulade has charged the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to focus more on the development and upgrading of the State’s health sector so that COVID-19 cases can get their test results faster in order to save more lives.

Comr. Sheriff Mulade Sheriff gave the charge in Warri on Wednesday, 27th May, while speaking with newsmen, also expressed disappointment over the present deplorable conditions of the State’s health facilities.

He lamented that Delta State has no reliable teaching hospital with standard equipment for proper medical tests, treatment and research, even when the State was privileged to produce two medical doctors, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan and the incumbent. Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, as Governors.

On public expectations from the health sector of Delta State, Chief Sheriff Mulade, who is the Ibe-Sorimowei of Ancient Gbaramatu Kingdom said the administrations of Dr. Uduaghan and now Dr. Okowa, ought to have positioned Delta State as first in Nigeria’s health system with the best medical facilities that would attract referrals but unfortunately the reverse has been the case.

Speaking on reported COVID-19 cases and deaths in the State, the NGO Boss said the global health emergency has exposed the poor state of our health system as the blood samples of suspected COVID-19 cases from Delta State are taken to Irrua in Edo State for testing and confirmation, with test results usually taking 3 or more days to arrive because Delta State does not have any laboratory for COVID-19 test.

He said this delay leads to late treatments causing vulnerable ones hit by the COVID-19 disease to die, stressing that most of the COVID-19 deaths recorded in Delta State were caused by delayed test results from Irrua, Edo State.

The CEPEJ’s National Coordinator noted with sadness that the election of two medical doctors as Governors for two consecutive tenures of eight years each has failed to address the perennial health challenges of Delta State.

He therefore urged the incumbent Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa to focus more on improving and upgrading the health system of the State by rehabilitating failed structures, and acquiring more medical equipment with updated systems in the 25 LGAs of the State thereby making medical treatments accessible to all Deltans without stress.

This, he said, is a major way by which Governor Okowa can write his name in the history book of the State, adding that it would be disappointing for him to complete his two tenures of 4 years each without making any significant impact on the State’s health sector.

Mulade said the Covid-19 pandemic has exposed Governor Ifeanyi Okowa as a professional medical doctor, noting that his good performance in this challenging period will be his legacy for posterity.