JUST IN: Ondo Pregnant Women’s Protest: Akeredolu Reacts

Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state has reacted to the Protest staged by pregnant women in the state specialist hospital in Akure, over a the increment in medical services fees announced to the women on Thursday.

The pregnant women numbering over 200 had in the morning blocked the main entrance of the hospital preventing patients, workers and people from entering the hospital, hindering vehicular movement at the ever-busy hospital road for more than two hours.

The protesting women with their protruding stomachs, vowed to resist the over 300 percent in the increase of the cost of services in the hospital, and sat at the entrance of the hospital, rendering anti-government songs, and called on the state government to reverse the cost of service.

Some of the women who spoke with Our correspondent explained that they usually pay N1,000 as registration for antenatal while delivery was free but said the fee has been increased to N4,000, while they have to pay N500 for every antenatal appointment and N25,000 for normal delivery.

A pregnant woman who was about to deliver was seen at the antenatal unit of the hospital while there was no doctor to attend to her, while some people were seen praying for her before she delivered a baby girl.

One of the protesting pregnant woman, Mrs Sharon Arise, said the new increased fees were being collected from them by the hospital’s officials on the order of the state government,while the services were free during the immediate past Mimiko led administration in the state.

She said the cost of antenatal services were increased last December while other fees were introduced after the Easter break, saying most of them have resort to traditional midwives and private hospitals because of the outrageous bill and fee.

“This morning when we got to the hospital, we were asked to pay N500 each before they can attend to us and initially when we registered we registered with N2,500 which is to cover the whole antenatal period.

“But now, they asked us to pay every time we need to see the doctor and that we should prepare N25,000 ahead of our delivery and those who registered today had to pay N4,000 as against N1,000 we used to pay before for antenatal.

“We made a formal complaint at the office of the CMD, he failed to attend to us or address us and we decided to protest against the obnoxious policies of the hospital board and the state government.

“We were asked to be paying N500 per consultancy session but we suddenly discovered that we are to pay N25,000 for delivery. They collected N4,000 for registration, with no drugs for us. ”

However, governor Akeredolu, through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Segun Ajiboye in a chat with nigeriancablenewsonline.com has denied authorizing the said increments. Adding that the hospital management acted on their own.

He said:

“let me make it clear that the governor did not authorize any increment in the hospital. We were even surprised to hear about the development”

Ajiboye however concluded by saying that the health commissioner has reversed the increments almost immediately.