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Benue governor, Ortom says he treats people bitten by snake for free

Published

7 years ago

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Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom said he has a foundation to treat snake bite victims.

According to him, the foundation called Oracle Business Limited Foundation spent no fewer than N150 million on the treatment of snake bite victims from 2013 till date.

According to him, the records indicate that 579 people from 14 local government areas in Benue State and one from Nasarawa State have benefited from the initiative.

This is coming at the time the governor was being accused of importing snakes and reptiles into the country.

Coordinator of the Snake Bite Treatment Scheme of the Foundation who released the documents, Evangelist Daniel Unongo, said the beneficiaries are indigenes of Guma, Makurdi, Gwer, Gwer West, Tarka, Buruku, Gboko, Konshisha, Ushongo, Oju, Logo, Ukum, Kwande, Apa, in Benue, and Obi in Nasarawa State.

He stated that, “several students from the Benue State University whose local governments of origin could not be ascertained were also treated during the period under review. The initiative is part of the services which the foundation renders under its three-fold agenda of redemptive, restorative and reformative commission.

“Governor Samuel Ortom, founder of the foundation received the inspiration for its establishment in 2004 as part of his Christian help ministry to cater for prison inmates, widows, orphans and the vulnerable as well as support the preaching of the gospel. The foundation has to respond to the challenge of snake bites which persists mostly in the rural environment where most victims are unable to pay the expensive bills for treatment and therefore, subsequently die.

“It costs from thousands to over a million naira to treat a victim depending on the type of snake and severity of the case. It is noteworthy that most of those who benefited from the treatment have survived. As a result of the rampant nature of the cases the foundation has retained the services of Bishop Murray Medical Centre and Rahama Hospital in Makurdi for treatment of victims from various parts of the state.

He said a snake had bitten the 25 year old man in the farm and that when he was rushed to the Bishop Murray Medical Centre, Makurdi the hospital demanded a deposit of N200, 000.

According to him the young man recovered after the foundation expended over N230, 000 on his treatment.

“From the foregoing, those alleging that Governor Ortom has a snake farm are mischievous and most uncharitable to him to say the least. The Oracle conglomerate has never had a history of owning a snake farm but rather that of saving the life of snakebite victims,” he added.

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