Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
A good Samaritan, Otunba Adebayo Popoola, has put smiles on the faces of some mothers who had just been delivered of babies and other patients who were not released from the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti for failure to pay their bills.
The outstanding bills of over N1m was paid by Otunba Popoola who was handling the fumigation of the hospital complex as parts of efforts to tackle Coronavirus in the state.
The drama occurred on Sunday when the distraught mothers of new babies who had been held back at the maternity ward for their indebtedness cried to Popoola for help calling him to assist them.
It was learnt that Popoola’s outfit, Emma POP, is collaborating with the government of Ekiti State to fumigate the state to contain the Coronavirus.
Popoola who had earlier supervised the fumigation exercise of some major roads, markets and other public infrastructures entered the hospital’s maternity ward and was greeted with the sight of the beleaguered women.
Apparently moved by compassion for the women and their newborns, Popoola paid over N1 million to facilitate their discharge and also offset the bills of other patients a gesture which brought joy to the beneficiaries.
He paid some of the lesser bills from the POS, and sorted out those who owed higher bills one after the other.
Some of the beneficiaries who prayed for their unknown benefactor knelt down and shed tears of joy while others rolled on the ground in appreciation of the gesture.
One of the newly-delivered women had her twins still inside the incubator, but bills were piled up and she and her husband, being civil servants could not afford to pay the huge bills.
A beneficiary of the gesture, Miss Fadahunsi Jumoke, had been discharged more than a week earlier for a debt of N37,000.
Two women who delivered by Caesarian Section (CS), Mrs. Omowumi Ajayi and Mrs. Oyeleye could not hide their joys after their bills of N150,000 each were paid by Popoola.
Also benefiting from the windfall was Mrs Adijat Arowolo whose pregnant daughter, Rukayat Temitope, was suffering from kidney problem.
Other beneficiaries were Aina Fasila, Sofiat Oyeleye, Modupe Martins and Ebun Oladele.
Speaking after paying the bills, Popoola said the gesture was his modest contribution to assist the needy and bring smiles to their faces.
He said nothing is too small or big to do for fellow human beings during this period in the country.
Popoola also hailed the Ekiti State government’s efforts at ensuring that the state was free of the Coronavirus disease which led to the fumigation exercise.