THE NATION WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2013
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NEWS
•Idris (third left) addressing reporters...yesterday. With him are the Director of the Limb Deformity Corrective Surgery Programme, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe (left); Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Femi Olugbile (second left), Chief Medical Director, Prof Wale Oke ((second right) and a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Ladipo Adewole. PHOTO: NIYI ADENIRAN
•Mrs. Oyelakin and Mrs. Arowolo.
Lagos sponsors knee replacement surgeries
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WO women, who have been down with arthritis, can now walk again, following total knee replacement surgeries at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja. For almost a decade, Mrs. Rafat Arowolo and Mrs. Rafat Oyelakin could not afford the surgeries, which cost about a million naira each, until the Lagos State Government came to their rescue through its Limb Deformity programme, which assists people with limb deformities. The surgeries were done by a 10-man team of health workers, led by Dr. Ladipo Adewole, a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. Mrs. Arowolo, a 60-year-old petty trader, was all smiles as
•Women walk again after 10 years By Oyeyemi GbengaMustapha
she took her first steps with crutches after a long time. Before the surgery, she could not walk because of pains in her left knee. She had “progressively worsening deformity of the knee”, otherwise called bow leg and knee instability. She had sought treatment in many hospitals without improvement. Mrs. Oyelakin (52) had “progressively worsening deformity of the right knee”, otherwise called k-leg, and could not walk. Her husband, Yisa Oyelakin, a staff of the hospital, told the
hospital’s management about his wife’s condition and she was enrolled as an out patient. She was treated for three years, but did not respond to medications and physiotherapy. Mrs. Oyelakin was told that she needed a total knee replacement surgery, but she could not afford it. Both beneficiaries and their relatives are grateful to the Lagos State government. Speaking with reporters yesterday at the hospital on why the government took up the women’s cases, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, said: “The government thought it wise to discourage
people from taking our resources abroad for surgeries that can be done in the country. By starting this exercise, we will build local capacity for surgical procedures like this. “It is also an avenue to train resident doctors aspiring to become certified specialists as well as nurses and physiotherapists, who will be responsible for patients’ nursing and rehabilitation management. “This way, surgeons, nurses and physiotherapists get to manage such cases frequently and become more proficient. Also, Lagosians who cannot afford this treatment will be the ultimate beneficiaries.”
Demolition: Ekiti to compensate owners of HE Ekiti State Governgets to their door steps, he approved buildings ment will compensate said a notice was served on the owners of buildings
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with approved plans, which have been marked for demolition in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. The Commissioner for Housing, Physical Planning and Urban
Development, Remi Olorunleke, spoke yesterday while supervising the demolition of some buildings at Nova. The government is demolishing buildings obstructing the waterways to prevent
flooding. Olorunleke urged the people to always get the government’s approval before building any structure. Urging residents of marked buildings to vacate them before the demolition
landlords over three weeks ago. The commissioner praised landlords that have complied with the directive and assured residents that the government will continue to make life more meaningful for them.
PDP’s claim of defection is deceitful, says Ogun ACN
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HE Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ogun State has described the report of mass defection from the party to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as “deceitful”. In a statement yesterday by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sola Lawal, ACN said the report was a “desperate engagement in wishful thinking by the PDP”. At the weekend, the PDP alleged that 2,000 ACN mem-
bers, led by a former chairmanship aspirant, Mr. Yemi Duduyemi, dumped the party in Ijebu Mushin. ACN said Duduyemi went back to his original party, the PDP, with eight of his supporters, with whom he earlier defected to the ACN. It said: “The truth is that Duduyemi embraced ACN with eight of his supporters on the eve of the nomination for the council election with the hope of getting the
party’s ticket. “Having failed to realise an inordinate ambition, he retraced his steps to the PDP with the eight members of his family that he came with. The eight others include Femi Duduyemi, Kole Duduyemi and Olaitan Duduyemi. “In the recently concluded revalidation of the ACN membership register, 523 members were registered in Mushin, which is one of the
10 wards in Ijebu East Local Government. “It is therefore a confounding illogicality that a party would allegedly lose defectors whose number triples the total number of registered members in the locality.” ACN wondered why many buses were deployed to ferry purported defectors to the venue, if genuinely they were from Ijebu Mushin, a small rural community.
Labour chief seeks end to killings
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GONY and insecurity now walk with two legs in the country, no thanks to the activities of Boko Haram sect, cultism and others, Vice President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Isa Aremu has said. Aremu, who spoke with reporters yesterday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on the state of the nation, decried last week gruesome murder of security personnel in Nassarawa
From Adekunle Jimoh, Ilorin
State. His words: “There is so much of agony in some parts of Nigeria. There is agony in Maiduguri, Nasarawa, I want to express our sympathy with the Inspector-General for the callous and wicked killings of policemen. Who ever dare to kill a policeman, a soldier because these are the people trained to protect us, then what about civilians? There is agony virtually in all parts of the coun-
try. Kidnapping has become almost a normal thing. The robbers now do not go only for the property; they now kill owners of the property. “The latest one is the kidnap of the wife and daughter of a judge of the Supreme Court. We have also heard of children organizing to kidnap their own father. We have the forces of insecurity at work; the forces of security also should organise. We have the forces that want to destroy Nigeria, the only hope left for Nigeria, is the
Nigerian working class. “We have to advise President Goodluck Jonathan that rather than agonizing, he has to organise himself. We must organise our security forces so that they lay more emphasis on intelligence. Prevention is better than cure. President should organiSe his security forces not to just agonise. He must also organise his government to make sure that the resources of Nigeria are channel to save the complete fall of the citizens.”
Idris said because the 12 knee replacement surgeries that had been done since the inception of the programme were inadequate for training, provisions have been made for a fixed number of free knee and hip surgeries monthly. He said: “Through this effort, the government will be saving a lot of funds that would have gone to India and other places abroad, aside caring for its people, building human capacity and developing enduring physical and institutional infrastructure.” Idris said the beneficiaries were considered because they had severe osteoarthritis of the knees, a condition characterised by worn-out cartilage at the end of the bones that form a joint.
During the surgery, the worn-out cartilage and some bones are removed and replaced with prostheses. The commissioner said: “The surgical procedures were carried out using INDUS total knee implants made in India. An Indian surgeon, Prof. Nagare, was in attendance to demonstrate the peculiarities of insertion of that particular implant to LASUTH surgeons, exchange personal experiences and give them a few tips and tricks. “The surgeries resulted in the patients being able to walk again without pain and deformity. Both patients had uneventful post-operative periods and were discharged one week after surgery.”
17 states adopt Ekiti’s Unified Drug Revolving Fund
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EVENTEEN states have understudied and are replicating the Ekiti State’s Unified Drug Revolving Fund (UDRF). The Permanent Secretary of the State Primary Health Care Development Agency (PHCDA), Mrs. Folakemi Falore, announced this at a seminar organised by the agency on the “Sustainability of the UDRF”. She said the programme was designed to enhance health care services, adding that it is self-sustaining. Mrs. Falore, who was represented by PHCDA’s Director of Pharmacy, Mr. Ade Kolawole, said the agency regularly checks the extent of compliance with operational guidelines by PHC facilities. She said the programme helps to identify and address areas of need. The General Manager of the Central Medical Stores, Mr. Peter Olajiga, said the government has employed adequate personnel for the programme and trained them to identify fake drugs. He urged the public to report fake drugs distribution channels to the relevant agencies. The Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Olu Aladesuru, said PHCs must develop a good data base for effective planning, implementation and thorough supervision of their activities.
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Oyo unveils Mega Trade Fair logo tomorrow
HE logo of the forthcoming Oyo Mega Trade Fair will be unveiled tomorrow in Ibadan, the state capital. The ceremony, which will be attended by representatives of stakeholders in the August 9-18 Fair, will kick off major activities towards the fair. The organisers are the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria (NIMN), Dequeue Software and SNX Media. The President of the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), Mr. Chido Nwakanma; the Publicity Director of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the Southwest, Mr. Ayo Afolabi, who is also the Secretary General of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), are expected at the ceremony.
Olubadan to honour Ajimobi, wife on Saturday
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YO State Governor Abiola Ajimobi and his wife, Florence, will on Saturday be conferred with the chieftaincy titles of Aare Atunluse and Yeye Aare Atunluse of Ibadanland (the beautifier and restorer of the dignity of Ibadan) by the Olubadan, Oba Samuel Odulana Odugade I. The ceremony will hold at the Olubadan’s palace in Monatan, Ibadan, the state capital. In a statement yesterday, the governor’s media aide, Dr. Festus Adedayo, said the chieftaincy titles were in recognition of Ajimobi’s achievements in two years.