Osun State government has reported the invasion, looting and carting away of drugs, mosquito nets and ICT equipment by rampaging hoodlums from its medical complex and drug distribution centre.
The report followed the assessment of government properties and the state’s collective possession that were looted and vandalized in the wake of the violence that greeted the EndSARS protest hijacked by persons described as hoodlums.
The report was made on Monday by the Executive Secretary of the Osun Health Insurance Agency, Dr Adeniyi Oginni, during a press conference on the vandalisation of the agency’s headquarters and drug distribution centre.
Oginni, describing the incident, said the hoodlums, who stormed the facility with assorted weapons, besieged the agency’s head office and OHIS Drug Distribution Centre, OHIS DDC, that share the same compound with the state central medical store which housed the mosquito nets currently being distributed across the state by the state malaria programme.
He added that some of the items that were carted away on Saturday included electronics, ICT equipment, office furniture and medicines.
Describing the importance of the facility to Osun State, Oginni said: “Recall that the Governor of the State, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola, in demonstration of his commitment to his promise to provide qualitative health care for the good people of the state, last year released the sum of N150m take-off grant to establish the agency and another N477 million as equity grant to fund the vulnerable programme of Osun Health Insurance Scheme, OHIS, which is meant to provide quality healthcare for the poorest of the poor at no cost to them whatsoever.
“Over 167,000 enrollees including civil servants, self employed and vulnerable indigent persons are already enjoying the scheme with another list of 24,712 vulnerable persons and people living with disability, whose vulnerability status has just been validated waiting for enrolment and empanelment to healthcare facilities where they would have started receiving healthcare free of charge from November, 2020.
“There are 86 healthcare facilities both public and private already providing primary and secondary care to our enrollees across the state.
‘In addition, in order to ease the problem of out-of-stock syndrome of medicines for OHIS enrollees, Governor, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola gave approval for the agency to establish OHIS Drug Distribution Centre with a seed stock of N25 million to supply medicines and consumables to all government hospitals accredited for service provision under the scheme.
“This way, our enrollees have been enjoying supply of drugs contained in our Essential Medicine List whenever they present to our hospitals. This incidentally is the first of its kind to be operated by any state Health Insurance Agency in the country, and has now been vandalised with more than half the drugs carted away by hoodlums.”
Oginni appealed to its citizens to cooperate with the government of the state in providing quality healthcare system under the Osun Health Insurance scheme, by notifying the law enforcement agents promptly at the sight of electronic equipment, computers, printers, furniture, generators, refrigerators and drugs belonging to the state, adding that citizens had a role to play in putting a stop to the wanton destruction of the commonwealth of the state.
