Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has been commended for approving the payment of outstanding salaries owed to newly employed doctors under the Rivers State Hospital Management Board.
Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Rivers State Branch, Dr. Tamunokuro Ezekiel also expressed appreciation to Governor Fubara for the Administration’s massive infrastructural investments in the health sector.
Dr. Ezekiel made the commendations while speaking at the 2025 Physicians’ Week organized by the Rivers State Branch of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) at the NMA House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Dr. Ezekiel also disclosed that within the past twelve months, the NMA provided free medical services to over 100,000 residents across eight Local Government Areas of the state.
He further noted that the association’s anti-quackery campaign has recorded significant success, with the closure of several substandard health facilities operating below acceptable standards in the state.
Earlier, Rivers State Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu had reiterated the commitment of the state government in strengthening the health system through robust policies, strategic investments, and people first approach.
Speaking as a Special Guest at the evnt, Prof. Odu insisted that in today’s rapidly evolving world, we must recognize that healthcare is not an isolated service but a comprehensive value chain involving governance, infrastructure, technology, ethics, and critical human resources.
The Deputy Governor commended the NMA for choosing a timely and impactful theme, which is “Healthcare as a Value Chain: Building Efficiency from Policy to Patient”.
According to her, the theme speaks directly to the urgent need for a more integrated and responsive healthcare system, one that aligns visionary policy with practical implementation, putting the patient at the heart of every decision.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion, Dr. Tamunoiyoriari Sampson Parker, who is also Chairman of the Rivers State University Management Board disclosed that a well conceived health policy would fail in execution if the doctors who implement it are over worked, under paid, or uninspired, adding that sustainable healthcare delivery cannot rest on exhausted shoulders.
