Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has described the old Neuropsychiatric Hospital complex in Rumuigbo, Port Harcourt, as a hub for illegal drug trafficking, saying the newly reconstructed facility will help curb the activities.
Fubara made the disclosure yesterday while commissioning the new Neuropsychiatric Hospital and General Hospital built by his administration within the complex.
According to him, drug dealers had exploited the poorly secured premises to supply substances to inmates undergoing rehabilitation.
“This premises was a drug trafficking centre. We keep people in the Rehabilitation Centre, but some of our people innocently come here to play football while others are carrying bags to sell drugs to the inmates,” he said.
The governor said the reconstruction had transformed the environment, with improved security and perimeter fencing designed to restrict unauthorised access.
“With what we have done today, I believe that the environment is secured, well-fenced and if you must enter here you must pass through the gates. So, to some extent, it will reduce these activities of drug trafficking in this premises,” he added.
Fubara said the decision to rebuild and modernise the facility followed an inspection visit to the old rehabilitation centre, where he was confronted with the limitations of the existing infrastructure.
He recalled that the Hospital Management Board had invited him to inspect a rehabilitation centre being constructed with limited overhead funds, prompting him to consider a comprehensive redevelopment of the entire complex.
“It was there and then that I said: Look, we have this very big compound, we need to rebuild, modernise and upgrade the standard of this Neuropsychiatric Hospital and that day, we started this journey,” he said.
The governor noted that the Neuropsychiatric Hospital was conceived in 1970 and commissioned in 1977 with an initial capacity of 50 beds.
He said the remodelled facility now includes a 100-bed rehabilitation centre for people dealing with mental health and substance abuse challenges.
Fubara linked rising mental health challenges to unemployment, depression and other psychological pressures, saying the upgraded facility was designed to respond to the realities of contemporary society.
“Even in developed countries, they send people to Rehabilitation Centres and they help bring you back to normalcy. So what we have done here is to prepare for the current challenges of our time,” he said.
On the newly constructed General Hospital, Fubara said the facility was necessary because Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, one of the largest in the state, lacked a standard secondary healthcare facility.
He said residents previously had to rely largely on primary healthcare centres or travel to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital and Braithwaite Memorial Hospital for higher levels of care.
“We felt that Obio/Akpor deserves a General Hospital,” he said, adding that residents could now receive treatment closer to home and only be referred to tertiary facilities when necessary.
Fubara said his administration remained committed to what he described as the three pillars of a functional society — education, healthcare and housing.
He also appealed to the Obio/Akpor council chairman and residents of the host community to protect the facilities against theft and vandalism.
“You’re the direct beneficiaries of it. Don’t say it is a government thing. It is in your place. Who knows, it might take you a long time to get something like this again,” he said.
Chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Gift Worlu, commended the governor for prioritising healthcare and successfully executing the projects.
He said the modern Neuropsychiatric Hospital would help address mental health challenges affecting residents of the area.
The outgoing president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe, who was the Special Guest of Honour and performed the symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony, also commended the state government for investing in healthcare infrastructure.
Osigwe particularly praised the emphasis placed on mental health, describing the Neuropsychiatric Hospital as an important facility for any modern society.
He urged Nigerians to stop stigmatising people seeking mental healthcare, noting that mental healthcare covers conditions such as stress, depression and personal crises, and is not limited to severe psychiatric disorders.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Health, Dr Vincent Wachukwu, said the new General Hospital is equipped with Accident and Emergency services, consulting rooms, pharmacy, laboratory, X-ray rooms, delivery room, maternity facilities and postnatal and antenatal wards.
He said the hospital also has an operating theatre, surgery recovery room, Central Sterilising Services Department, Intensive Care Unit, Newborn Intensive Care Unit, paediatric wards, male and female general wards with 50 beds each, private wards and administrative offices.
According to him, the Neuropsychiatric Hospital comprises consulting rooms, pharmacy, laboratory, male and female 50-bed wards, a substance and drug-abuse rehabilitation centre, 50-bed private wards, administrative offices, recreational spaces and a meeting hall.
Other facilities include an electroconvulsive therapy centre, ICT centre, canteen, mortuary, generator house, internal road networks, landscaping, a 216-bed students’ hostel and staff quarters comprising 12 two-bedroom apartments.
Wachukwu added that both hospitals were furnished with modern diagnostic and treatment equipment and provided with new ambulances.
The complex is also equipped with a 500KVA transformer, a 350KVA generating set and solar panels with inverter batteries capable of providing 120KVA.
