Governor Fubara says Rivers Neuropsychiatric Hospital was once a drug trafficking spot

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has revealed that the state's Neuropsychiatric Hospital in Rumuigbo, located in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, used to be a hub for drug trafficking.

Governor Fubara shared this information on Thursday while opening the newly upgraded neuropsychiatric hospital and a new General Hospital in Rumuigbo.

His comments were included in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday by his spokesperson, Onwuka Nzeshi.

Fubara explained that the hospital had become a place where drugs were supplied to inmates undergoing rehabilitation. "These premises were a drug trafficking centre. We keep people in the Rehabilitation Centre, but some of our people innocently come here to play football while others are carrying bags to sell drugs to the inmates," he said.

He noted that this situation led his government to secure the premises by fencing the facility and controlling access with designated gates.

The governor mentioned that the decision to rebuild and upgrade the hospital came after he visited the facility. He said the Hospital Management Board had invited him to check a rehabilitation centre under construction with limited funds.

"It was there and then that I said: Look, we have this very big compound, we need to rebuild, modernise and upgrade the standard of this neuropsychiatric hospital and that day, we started this journey," he explained.

Fubara shared that the neuropsychiatric hospital was established in 1970 and opened in 1977, originally with a 50-bed capacity. After the upgrade, he said the facility now includes a 100-bed rehabilitation centre for people facing mental health and substance abuse challenges.

He pointed out that unemployment, depression, and other psychological issues lead to mental health problems. He emphasized the need for rehabilitation facilities to tackle these issues. "Even in developed countries, they send people to rehabilitation centres, and they help bring you back to normalcy. So, what we have done here is to prepare for the current challenges of our time," he said.

New General Hospital

Regarding the new general hospital, Fubara stated that Obio/Akpor, one of the largest local government areas in the state, deserves a proper healthcare facility beyond primary healthcare centres.

He noted that residents used to travel to the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital or Braithwaite Memorial Hospital for advanced medical services. "With the new general hospital, residents can now access treatment locally and only be referred to higher facilities when necessary," he said.

Vincent Wachukwu, the permanent secretary of the Rivers State Ministry of Health, confirmed that the hospital features accident and emergency services, consulting rooms, a pharmacy, a lab, X-ray rooms, a delivery room, and maternity, postnatal, and antenatal wards.

The hospital also includes an operating theatre, a surgical recovery room, an intensive care unit, a newborn intensive care unit, paediatric wards, male and female general wards with 50 beds each, private wards, and administrative offices.

Wachukwu added that the Neuropsychiatric Hospital has consulting rooms, a pharmacy, a lab, male and female 50-bed wards, a substance and drug-abuse rehabilitation centre, 50-bed private wards, recreational areas, and a meeting hall.

Other facilities include an electroconvulsive therapy centre, an ICT centre, a canteen, a mortuary, a generator house, internal road networks, and landscaping. The complex also has a 216-bed students’ hostel and staff quarters with 12 two-bedroom apartments.

Wachukwu stated that both hospitals are equipped with modern diagnostic and treatment tools, and each has a new ambulance.

The complex is powered by a 500KVA transformer, a 350KVA generator, and solar panels with inverter batteries providing 120KVA.

Afam Osigwe, the outgoing President of the Nigerian Bar Association, who cut the ribbon, praised the Rivers State Government for investing in healthcare and focusing on mental health.

Osigwe urged the public to stop stigmatizing people seeking mental healthcare, saying such care includes stress, depression, and personal crises, not just severe psychiatric disorders.

Fubara also called on the Obio/Akpor council chairman and the local community to take ownership of the facilities and protect them from theft and vandalism.