GOVERNOR Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State said, yesterday, that he would not leave unpaid salaries for his successor, after his tenure.

Akeredolu said this during the Ondo State Health Summit, held in Akure.

His words: “I am glad to inform you that we made giant strides in all of these areas. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 Pandemic came in the third year into our First Term with its attendant economic crisis, which has since put governments across the world in financial straitjackets.

“Notwithstanding the precarious situation we inherited in 2017, you will recall that we had settled six of the seven months arrears of salaries.   

“We employed and have continued to employ qualified personnel for our primary, secondary and tertiary health care facilities. We equally brought in several containers of hospital equipment worth billions of naira from the United States of America.  

“Again, we established Teaching Hospital Complexes in both Akure and Ondo city as well as established the Contributory Health Insurance Commission among other achievements that are well known to most of our health sector practitioners in the state. 

“It is trite knowledge that no government anywhere in the world can claim to have done or achieved it all, especially within the context of a changing world and within the perspective of the theme of this summit.

“It is for this and many other reasons that the decision to focus on the challenges facing our health care delivery system as a government is well thought out.”