In the space of five months, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has turned a promise into a paycheck for hundreds of Ondo State nurses; proof that his administration’s billions of naira poured into the health sector are translating into real jobs and real capacity on the wards.
Through the Hospitals Management Board (HMB), the agency overseeing the state’s 24 specialist and general hospitals alongside several clinics- the governor’s health workforce drive has delivered results in three swift phases. In March/April, 91 intern nurses were brought on board. By July, another 61 joined their ranks. And in the most recent recruitment exercise, 172 staff nurses were engaged, bringing the total number of nurses absorbed into the system to 330 in under half a year.
Speaking on behalf of the Board, its acting chairman, Dr. Akeredolu O.N., commended the governor for placing the health needs of Ondo people at the heart of governance. He noted that this current wave of employment stands on a foundation laid by previous HMB leadership singling out Dr. Taiwo Fasoranti, now Secretary to the State Government, and Dr. Victor Ategbole, whose tenures at the Board set the pace for the growth the sector enjoys today.
The youthful chairman was however clear-eyed about what comes next. His message to Ondo’s newly expanded army of health personnel was simple and direct: diligence.
Dr. Akeredolu urged the newly engaged personnel and the wider Ondo health workforce to remain diligent in service, noting that this is the only request the governor asked of them in return for the state’s continued investment in their welfare and deployment.
With this latest round of recruitment, the Aiyedatiwa administration sends a clear signal: a healthy Ondo State begins with a well-staffed, well-motivated health workforce.
For a state where access to healthcare has long depended on the availability of hands on deck, 330 new nurses in five months is not just a statistic, it is 330 more reasons for Ondo indigenes to walk into a hospital and be attended to. It is governance measured not in promises, but in personnel.
Dr. Akeredolu O. N.
Ag. Chairman, Ondo HMB.