Anambra government has dismissed insinuation that it was competing with Lagos, following the launch of the 240-bed isolation centre at the National Youth Service Corps Complex at Mbaukwu-Umuawulu in Awka South Local Government Area.
It said the centre was not built in response to the 110-bed isolation which Guarantee Trust Bank built and donated about a week and a half ago to Lagos.
The decision to build isolation centres was taken no sooner than the pandemic broke out in Nigeria, it said in a statement by C. Don Adinuba commissioner for information and public enlightenment.
The statement read in part: “The 16-bed isolation centre at the Onitsha General Hospital, which meets the World Health Organisation (WHO) standards, was the first isolation centre to be conceived and built by the Anambra State Government.
However, given the manner in which COVID-19 has been ravaging the world, it became clear that this cenre might not be big enough for patients, all the more so given the fact that our people travel a lot to all parts of the world for one reason or another.
We recognized the need for surge centres, that is, facilities where patients who may not be accommodated in three of the leading hospitals in the state due to space constraint can be taken to.
“The newly built NYSC Camp at Umuawulu-Mbaukwu became a natural location for one of the centres.
“This is because of, among other factors, its size or capacity; its Auditorium alone can accommodate three hundred beds.
“The Anambra State Government took delivery of the world class beds, accessories and medical facilities in this camp and some other places in the state before the GT Bank opened the new impressive facility at the famous Onikan stadium in Lagos, now known as Mobolaji Johnson Stadium.
Our beds and other things were fixed within three days after the isolation centre at Mobola Johnson Stadium was delivered, and this was sheer coincidence….
“It is not true that the Anambra State Government launched the COVID-19 Fund because of the tremendous amounts of money which the Lagos State Government has been receiving from wealthy Nigerian organisations and individuals in the fight against the coronavirus.
Like the rest of Igbo society, Anambra people have for several decades been known for “do-it-yourself” spirit which has seen them execute many projects.
Various administrations in the state have over the decades turned to wealthy individuals for assistance, like in the aftermath of the inferno which wrecked Ochanja Market in Onitsha last October 13 when a petrol-laden tanker fell and its contents spilled, resulting in a huge fire.”