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Dr. Peter Mbah, the Governor of Enugu State, officially inked the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Teaching Hospital Bill 2024 into Law on Tuesday, assuring swift steps to materialize the teaching hospital as soon as possible.
This move aims to enhance medical education and healthcare delivery in the Enugu North region and across the state.
Mbah, expressing gratitude to the Enugu State House of Assembly for expediting the processing and approval of the executive Bill, highlighted that the establishment of SUMAS Teaching Hospital aligns closely with his campaign promises outlined in his manifesto.
He said: ‘What we have done by signing into law the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Scieneces Teaching Hospital Bill is that we now have in place a legal framework to immediately begin to put in place all that is required to upgrade SUMAS to a teaching hospital. This is part of our campaign promises and we are committed to delivering on that expeditiously.
‘We believe that the importance and significance of siting a teaching hospital in our Enugu North zone can never be lost on us. So, we are not going to spend any time in making sure that everything that is necessary and required to upgrade and get the teaching hospital operational is put in place. With this Law, we are going to redouble our commitment and our efforts to achieve that.’
Read also: I Will Provide Water In Enugu In 180 Days – Peter Mbah
He provided reassurance to the Governing Council and Management of SUMAS, affirming his unwavering backing, and emphasized that his administration anticipates leveraging their expertise and networks to expedite the establishment of the teaching hospital promptly.
‘We are going to continue to support you and we are also going to continue to count on your experience, network, and profile in raising resources to actualize the project.
‘This year alone, we are going to spend 33 per cent of our budget on education. This underscores the importance of education to this administration. So, be sure to come to us whenever there is a need. We are going to support you because we are interested in education and we are investing heavily in it,’ he said.
In his remarks, the Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, lauded Governor Mbah for his promptness and commitment to fulfilling his campaign pledges during the Bill signing ceremony, which was attended by Msgr. Obiora Ike, Chairman of SUMAS Governing Council, Prof. James Ogbonna, the Vice Chancellor, and other high-ranking officials of the institution. He reiterated the Assembly’s readiness to expedite the processing of any executive bill that would benefit the state and its residents.
‘We promised we are going to support this administration by doing our job expeditiously to ensure that there is no delay in your delivery of democracy dividends to our people. Therefore, the SUMAS Teaching Hospital Bill received expedited hearing and today you have the signing of the bill into law,’ he stated.
