Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has handed over state-owned general hospitals to some security agencies, the Anglican and The Lord’s Chosen churches to be operated under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.
In an event on Monday at Imo Government House, Owerri, representatives of the various partners joined the state government in signing the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).
Okorocha said the initiative was part of efforts to expand the scope of government owing to records that show that the private sector run establishments better.
The benefiting security agencies include the Nigerian Army (Owerri West General Hospital), Nigerian Navy (Ngor Okpala Hospital), Nigerian Airforce (Owerri North General Hospital) and Police (Ideator South General Hospital).
Three hospitals were leased to the Anglican Church for a period of five years with an 18-month moratorium, while Claretian and Lord’s Chosen Universities secured 99-year leases, also with an 18-month moratorium each.
Okorocha urged the beneficiaries to respect the terms of the MOU and hand the facilities back to the government at the expiration of the lease period.
The beneficiaries of the facilities, he said, would pay N100, 000 every month to the state government, while government would be entitled to 10 per cent stake.
