Rose Ejembi, Makurdi
Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom,yesterday, signed three bills into law at the Banquet Hall of Government House in Makurdi.
The bills singed into law were a bill for the establishment of Benue State Health Insurance Scheme, bill for the conversion of Alfred Akawe Torkula College of Advanced and Professional Studies, (AATCAPS) to Alfred Akawe Torkula Polytechnic Makurdi and bill for the conversion of Akperan Orshi College of Agriculture Yandev to Akperan Orshi Polytechnic Yandev.
The Health Insurance bill, according to the Governor, is to facilitate the establishment of the Health Insurance Agency which is structured to cover formal and informal sectors, as well as the category of people who are vulnerable such as the aged, the very poor and disabled who have no means with which to pay for insurance services.
Governor Ortom who assented to the bill assured that the state health insurance scheme would address the medical needs of the people in both urban and rural settings.
On the bills for the conversion of the two institution to polytechnics, Ortom noted that the institutions were part of his administration’s deliberate efforts towards repositioning the education sector to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Governor stated that the assent was only the beginning of the process and that proactive steps would be taken to secure the necessary regulatory approvals to admit, train and graduate people who would add greater value to the state.
The Governor enjoined the Benue State Executive Council to speedily approve recommendations contained in the report on the polytechnics even as he appealed to the host communities to take advantage of opportunities created by siting of the institutions in their areas.