Ngoketunjia: Hon Banmi Emmanuel donates health centre to Baligashu.

This was during a ceremony that was attended amongst other stakeholders by traditional authorities, community leaders and local residents.

The facility is notably made up of a pharmacy, a specialized space designed for antenatal consultations and basic emergency pediatric care, essential medical equipment and a waiting room.  

The health centre is supported by a dedicated solar plan to guarantee a regular supply of electricity. It will be managed by the Baligashu Development Association, according to authorities. 

Speaking in an interview shortly after the inauguration ceremony, Hon Banmi said the health centre will play a huge role in facilitating much-needed quick access to healthcare for the population of Baligashu village and those of neighboring communities.

“This population suffered for so many years to access health facilities. We wanted to shorten and to curb the suffering of the population by creating this modest but well-equipped health center where they can have primary healthcare. It is good for a community. This village has more than 3,000 inhabitants,” Hon Banmi said.

The MP said the project falls in line with his longstanding commitment to prioritize the wellbeing of the population of the Ngoketunjia South Constituency. 

He said it has enabled him to hit a new milestone in his drive to ensure that facilities like the community health centre which he says is equipped to provide first line of defense against preventable illnesses in the community and handle routine medical examinations and vaccinations, all made available for the five villages that make up the constituency. 

“For years, access to quick, reliable primary healthcare has remained a pressing need across the rural stretches of Balikumbat Subdivision. Residents often had to travel long distances over difficult terrain to access basic medical consultations, maternal care, and emergency first aid,” the legislator said.

“My role in legislative service and as the representative of the people is fundamentally to improve the everyday living standards of my people, and handing this facility to Baligashu Development Association ensures that the facility remains community-driven, tailored to the immediate health priorities of Baligashu, and protected by the community itself,” the MP reiterated. 

Baligashu expresses gratitude

Speaking to pressmen after receiving the keys of the centre, Fon Doh Gahwulubi expressed heartfelt appreciation of the population of Baligashu village to the MP for the gesture. He described the health centre a life-saving structure. 

“The distance that women used to take from here to get to the nearby hospital was enormous. Sometimes pregnant women will even deliver on the way. So, we say bravo to Hon Bami Emmanuel because the patient now should be closer where they can even have their medication,” the traditional ruler said.

The population of Baligashu village pledged to protect and make good use of the facility. They hailed Hon Banmi as a development-oriented legislator whose longstanding commitment to the wellbeing of the people has seen him championing infrastructural and larger local progress across the Baligashu, Bafanji, Bamunkumbit, Baligansin and Balikumbat villages that make up the constituency.

The population said the community health facility will asides primarily improving healthcare, equally play a decisive role in enhancing socio-economic progress, unity and self-reliance in Baligashu as fronted by the development association.

By Ndimbe Usman 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3862 of Wednesday July 29, 2026