From Gyang Bere, Jos
The Management Committee Chairman of Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, Hon Mafeng Gwallson, said the completion of the Trauma Healing Centre at the new General Hospital Riyom would help in healing the pains and agony of Internally displaced persons (IDPs) who lost family members during the decades of violence in the area.
He noted that Riyom has the highest number of Internally displaced persons who are wallowing in anguish, seeking for health experts to encourage them.
Gwallson disclosed this on Saturday when Commissioner for Information and Communication Dan Manjang, Director of Research, Government House Jos, Prof John Wade, and Commissioner of Health Ndam Lar, among others, inspected projects in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Gwallson appreciated Governor Simon Lalong for completing the Riyom General hospital, ongoing model secondary school and the Water Project in collaboration with Africa Development Bank.
‘When the Governor came for the campaign in 2015, he requested the people to give him peace and the people have done their best in that regards, that is why this general hospital has been completed,’ he said.
‘We are all aware that Riyom has passed through a lot of violent crises that has claimed several lives and what the people need now is trauma healing and trauma support and we thank God that the governor has included a trauma healing centre in the hospital.
‘The completion of the Trauma Centre will help our people, and you know that Riyom has the highest IDPs in the state and a lot of them have lost hope, a lot of them lost their means of livelihoods, they need people who are experts that will talk to them, they need people who will help overt their pains.
‘It is interesting to note that the whole of the land the hospital is situated was donated to the State Government through the local government and we are paying the compensation for the land to ensure that the hospital project becomes a reality.
‘The compensation for the whole of the land is costing the local government N37 million and the whole of this money is going to the families that own the land, we have started the process of paying the compensation and within a short time that will be done.’
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Hon Dan Manjang, who hails from the council area, said no administration has invested huge resources in Riyom like the rescue administration of Governor Simon Lalong.
He noted that Lalong will complete all the projects that we inherited and initiated by the administration, adding that the government has sourced all funds meant for the completion of the legacy projects in the state.