NDDC medical referrals seek Buhari’s intervention to save lives

NDDC medical referrals seek Buhari’s intervention to save lives

By Ugochukwu Alaribe – Umuahia

Patients under the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, medical referrals Batch 8 2019, have called on President Muhammadu Buhari, to prevail on the Commission to release funds to enable them to get medical attention.

Vanguard gathered that NDDC carries out medical interventions by releasing funds for treatment of persons with critical medical conditions who had been referred to various specialist hospitals, in some cases, abroad.

The delay in releasing funds for Commission’s Medical referrals Batch 8 2019 has continued to endanger the lives of benefitting patients.

The beneficiaries, who are from the NDDC areas of jurisdiction, are selected after rigorous scrutiny of their medical condition, socioeconomic status, and the medical referral for specialist treatment.

However, since 2019 when approval was given for medical referral batch 8, no funds have been released to the beneficiaries who are battling critical medical conditions to enable them to seek proper medical treatment.

In an interview with Vanguard, one of the beneficiaries of the NDDC batch 8 medical referral,  Mr.Friday Nwachi, who is battling with a threatening eye disease, lamented that he has lost one of his eyes while waiting for NDDC to release the approved funds for his treatment.

He stated that his second eye had already degenerated to the extent that he could barely see, adding that his vision has been grossly impaired.

In his words; “I am afraid I may completely lose my sight any time soon unless NDDC can hasten the payment of the money approved for my treatment,” he said.

Nwachi, who hails from the Ukwa West council,  Abia State, further lamented that some persons listed in Batch 8 medical referral had already died while waiting for the release of funds needed for their treatment.

He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and prevail on NDDC management to immediately release funds for the Batch 8 medical referral to avoid further loss of lives.

“As the situation of those on NDDC medical referral batch 8 2019 is a matter of life and death, we expect President Buhari to intervene and save us from avoidable death due to our poor economic status. Our papers have passed through all checks and audits and approval gave since last year but we have not received any money. We are dying. And that is why we are crying to President Buhari to come and rescue us,” Nwachi said.