By Ade Oyeyemi
United Nigeria Airlines has donated a community health centre, a solar-powered borehole and a perimeter fence to Aso-Ayegunle in Ijan-Ekiti, Ekiti State, as part of efforts to improve healthcare delivery and living conditions in the host community.
The airline’s Chairman, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo, made this known on Monday during the commissioning of the facilities, where he called for stronger collaboration among government, private investors and host communities to promote grassroots development.
Okonkwo said the projects were delivered under the airline’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiative to ensure that residents living around the Ekiti Agro-Allied International Cargo Airport benefited from investments and economic opportunities associated with the facility.
He explained that the airline consulted relevant stakeholders to identify the community’s most pressing needs before embarking on the projects.
According to him, residents also played a significant role in the construction work, accounting for about 90 per cent of the jobs created during the project.
“The Holy Spirit taught me that it was not enough to finish our retreat and leave; we should leave a mark here,” Okonkwo said.
The airline chairman commended Governor Biodun Oyebanji for supporting the company’s operations in Ekiti, noting that cooperation between the government and private investors was crucial to attracting investment and sustaining development.
He also disclosed plans to accelerate the development of the airline’s cargo operations at the state’s agro-allied international cargo airport, particularly to support the transportation of agricultural produce to wider markets.
“Cargo for agricultural products is very important to this state. We are going to hasten and facilitate our process of developing our cargo wing to ensure that we serve Ekiti State,” he said.
Okonkwo assured residents that the airline would continue to explore opportunities to contribute to development initiatives in the state.
Speaking at the event, Oyebanji praised the airline for the intervention, describing the donation as an example of how public-private partnerships could help address the needs of local communities.
The governor said his administration had rehabilitated, remodelled or constructed about 180 health centres across the state in the preceding four years as part of efforts to strengthen primary healthcare.
He pledged that the government would equip the newly commissioned facility and provide the necessary medical personnel and consumables to make it fully operational.
“A building alone does not treat, and it does not heal. I therefore charge the community to take ownership and use it well,” Oyebanji said, urging residents to protect the facility and ensure that it served its intended purpose.
The Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adeyemo Adejugbe Aladesanmi III, also commended the airline for the donation and urged residents to maintain the facilities to ensure their long-term usefulness.
The traditional ruler called on prominent indigenes of Ekiti State to invest in the state, stressing that sustained development required contributions from government, private individuals and corporate organisations.
Similarly, the state Head of Service, Dr Folakemi Olomojobi, said the health centre would improve access to essential medical services, particularly maternal and child healthcare, immunisation and other primary healthcare interventions.
Residents of Aso-Ayegunle welcomed the projects, saying the health centre would reduce the need to travel long distances to access medical care, especially for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children.
They also expressed optimism that the solar-powered borehole would improve access to clean water and enhance living conditions in the community.
The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Niyi Oyeniyi, described the commissioning as a significant milestone in the state’s development and praised the airline for complementing the government’s efforts.
The facilities are expected to bring primary healthcare and improved water access closer to residents of Aso-Ayegunle, particularly those living around the airport.
