Bauchi State Government has recruited 850 skilled and unskilled personnel to strengthen the state’s healthcare system, particularly the primary healthcare subsector.
The Executive Chairman of the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare Development Board, Dr Rilwanu Mohammed, disclosed this on Friday during a one-day orientation and documentation exercise for the newly recruited personnel at the board’s headquarters.
Mohammed said the recruitment was aimed at addressing manpower shortages in the primary healthcare system caused by retirements, deaths and voluntary exits from the service.
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He explained that the state government had embarked on a phased recruitment exercise, noting that Governor Bala Mohammed had earlier approved the engagement of 151 volunteer workers.
He added that another 175 healthcare workers, including nurses, midwives, community health workers and other personnel, had also been approved for recruitment and were expected to commence work soon.
According to him, the additional recruitment became necessary after the board observed that many healthcare workers were leaving the service without being replaced.
He said he subsequently presented a memorandum to the governor seeking approval to replace workers who had retired or left the service, which the governor approved.
“With the support of the local government chairpersons at the time—some of whom are still serving while others have since left—we were able to secure the governor’s approval to engage 850 staff across the state,” Mohammed said.
He explained that the 850 positions were distributed among the local government areas based on the number of healthcare workers who had retired or left the service.
However, he noted that Misau, Kirfi and Warji had particularly low numbers of retirees compared with other local government areas.
Mohammed said Misau had recorded 18 retirements, while Warji and Kirfi had 19 and 18 respectively, resulting in fewer replacement positions for the three areas.
He said other local government areas received higher allocations because of the larger number of workers who had retired or left the service.
The chairman disclosed that 92 personnel were approved for the Bauchi State Primary Healthcare headquarters, while some local government areas received 46, 56 and 70 personnel respectively.
He said the board had already completed the first phase of the exercise, which involved validation and documentation of the successful applicants across various clusters.
According to him, the remaining stage was the presentation of engagement letters to the recruits.
“As from today, you officially become staff of the Bauchi State Government,” he told the new employees.
Mohammed commended Governor Bala Mohammed for approving the recruitment, describing the decision as an indication that the governor understood the healthcare needs of residents.
He urged the newly recruited personnel to justify the confidence reposed in them by the government by dedicating themselves to providing quality healthcare services.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the board, Samaila Itimiya Liman, said the recruits had undergone various stages of validation and documentation, describing the presentation of engagement letters as the final stage of the process.
Liman urged them to dedicate themselves to public service and comply with their schedules and official responsibilities.
He noted that they were privileged to have been selected from among the many applicants who sought employment and urged them not to take the opportunity for granted.
Some of the newly recruited personnel expressed appreciation for the opportunity, saying they considered themselves fortunate to have been selected.
They pledged to work diligently and justify their employment by contributing to improved healthcare delivery across Bauchi State.
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