70 patients get free eye surgeries

Seventy patients received free eye surgeries offered by Mr Buba Jibril, a member of the House of Representatives, in Kogi, at the weekend.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the free medical treatment, which Jibril, an APC member representing Lokoja/Koton-Karfe constituency, personally supervised, lasted for three days.

Shedding more light on the outreach, the Deputy Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, said that the medical team treated a total of 6,243 patients and performed 70 eye surgeries in the two phases of the exercise.

“We treated 3,700 patients and carried out 41 surgical eye operations in the first phase.

“In the second, we treated 2,543 patients and carried out 29 eye surgeries with some operations carried out only this morning (Sunday),” he said.

He said that the medical outreach was an intervention targeted at meeting the health needs of his constituents “especially in these difficult times”.

“I feel happy and privileged to assist my people, particularly in Kogi, where civil servants are not being paid, and where health workers and hospitals are on strike,” Jibril said

The lawmaker, however, urged the Kogi government to pay civil servants and pensioners their entitlements, pointing out that failure to do so was against the constitution.

“Civil servants provide services and will always be there; we are calling on government to pay workers and stop these endless screenings,” he said.