Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (ADC), Peter Obi, has lamented that over 25 million Nigerians are battling kidney disease, describing a visit to nearly 1,000 kidney patients in Enugu as one of the most disheartening he has had.
Obi disclosed this after travelling to Enugu on Thursday to meet the patients, following the funeral mass of Most Rev Obiora Akubeze in Benin City.
He described the visit as depressing, saying he encountered helpless citizens “in a country of abundance,” including children, facing some of the most difficult moments of their lives.
According to him, Nigeria has fewer than 200 kidney centres and barely 500 functioning dialysis machines nationwide, when the country ideally needs about 5,000 functioning machines to adequately serve patients.
He described the shortfall as “completely unacceptable.”
Obi commended the organiser of the charity initiative, Emmanuel Onyeka Okoh, popularly known as Okwuluora, for his selfless humanitarian service to Nigerians who cannot help themselves, and pledged his continued support, starting with an initial donation to the kidney patients’ cause.
He called on the Federal Government and governments at all levels to take the lead in actively investing in the health sector to guarantee a healthier population for all Nigerians.
(The Whistler)