Yobe state Gov. Ibrahim Gaidam, yesterday visited the 200-bed capacity hospital in Damaturu, where installation of new equipment are nearly completion.
The state government had spent N2.5 billion to procure the state-of-the-art equipment at rates now double the amount due to exchange rate fluctuations.
The governor was taken round the hospital by the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Muhammad Bello Kawuwa, who told him that all remaining works and arrangements will be completed in six to eight weeks from today.
Kawuwa said the hospital has 16 in-patient wards, 19 specialist departments and units, seven specialist operations suites (theatres), over 10 out-patient clinics and other supporting services units.
The hospital, he added, would provide specialised medical care, not just to the people of Yobe state, but to people in other parts of the country.
He said: “When I came on board after the death of former Governor Mamman Ali (may his soul rest in peace), construction work on the hospital edifice was at 30 percent completion stage.
“We went ahead to complete and expand on the edifice itself and build staff housing and then proceeded with the installation of equipment”, he said.
The governor also said that some medical personnel, including doctors and nurses, who would work in the new hospital, would be sent to the United Kingdom for additional training even as the state government was working to build partnership with doctors from the Republic of India, who would also work in the hospital.