Gov. Makinde inducts 3,933 primary healthcare workers, says move will strengthen grassroots healthcare and improve service delivery in Oyo State

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Thursday formally inducted 3,933 newly recruited primary healthcare workers into the state workforce, describing the move as a major step toward strengthening healthcare delivery at the grassroots.

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The induction ceremony was held during the Orientation and Unveiling of the Operational Guidelines Programme at Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

Makinde said the large-scale recruitment would bridge human resource gaps in the health sector, improve the worker-to-population ratio, reduce workload on existing staff, and enhance service quality and patient satisfaction across the state.

The development was disclosed in a statement issued by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, on Thursday in Ibadan.

“We have focused on four major pillars — education, healthcare delivery, expansion of our economy, and security. But healthcare delivery is at the heart of our plan for the people of the state,” Makinde said.

He stressed that improving healthcare at the grassroots level could resolve up to 70 per cent of the challenges in the sector, noting that human capital remained more critical than infrastructure alone.

“It is not the buildings. Yes, we have renovated Primary Health Centres and provided facilities, but without the human capital, we are wasting our time,” he added.

The governor assured the newly inducted workers that their welfare would remain a top priority, promising prompt salary payments and adequate support to enable them to perform effectively.

Makinde also pledged that the government would renovate and equip at least one standard secondary healthcare facility in each geopolitical zone of the state.

He described the recruitment process as merit-based and urged the workers to see themselves as partners in delivering quality, equitable, and compassionate healthcare.

Referring to his administration’s development agenda, Makinde said:

“We came in under Omitutun 1.0. In 2023, you asked us to continue, and we had Omitutun 2.0. Now, Omitutun 3.0 is around the corner; it will ensure that your welfare is paramount and your salaries are paid as and when due.”

In goodwill messages, the Chairman of Ibadan North-East Local Government, Ibrahim Akintayo; a representative of the World Health Organisation, Ajayi Oladapo; and the Nigeria Medical Association, Solomon Olaoye, commended the governor for the massive recruitment drive in the health sector.

Dignitaries at the event included former Deputy Governor Hamid Gbadamosi; Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin; Chief Judge Iyabo Yerima; Secretary to the State Government, Musibau Babatunde; commissioners, local government chairmen, labour leaders, and religious leaders.

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Also present were the Commissioner for Health, Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi; Chairman of the Hospital Management Board, Akin Fagbemi; Senior Executive Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Bayo Lawal; and leaders of the Oyo State Elders’ Council, among other top government officials.