Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki
A businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Pius Okorie, has paid the hospital bills of several indigent patients amounting to millions of naira in various hospitals in Ebonyi State to celebrate the 51st birthday of Governor Francis Nwifuru.
Mr. Okorie, who is the CEO of PXL Global Technology and Engineering, and his team visited the two branches of Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, and Nwofe General Hospital, Izzi Local Government Area, for the exercise.
Speaking to reporters, Okorie said the gesture was carried out under a medical outreach programme organised in honour of the governor’s birthday.
“My name is Pius Okorie from PXL Global Technology and Engineering. I am here to settle the bills of patients, some of whom have been discharged but cannot afford to pay their bills.
“I am doing this in honour of our Governor, Francis Nwifuru’s birthday. My team and I are here to honour him with this programme called FON Medical Outreach,” he said.
Speaking on how the beneficiaries were selected, Okorie explained that the process was impartial and without consideration of background or origin.
“I just came and didn’t know anybody. I asked them how long they had been here and who had been discharged but could not pay. I decided to take care of the bills without knowing their names, where they come from, or whether they are indigenes or not,” he added.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Robinson Onoh, commended the initiative, describing it as a thoughtful way to mark the governor’s birthday.
Represented by Mrs. Omebe Cordelia, Chief Nursing Officer in the hospital, the CMD urged other well-meaning individuals to emulate Okorie’s gesture.
He noted that many patients have not been discharged due to their inability to pay their bills and may have stayed for long periods, ranging from two weeks to more than one year.
He assured that the hospital management remains open to partnerships with individuals and groups willing to assist patients in settling medical bills to enable them to receive treatment and be discharged promptly.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Ifeoma Blessing, expressed gratitude for the intervention, which she said came at a critical time.
“God bless him. I am so grateful to him. I thank him for coming to our rescue and to our governor, in whose name this is being done. He will live to see many more birthdays. We have been here for weeks, and now we have been discharged,” she said.
The outreach brought relief to several families struggling with mounting medical expenses, as beneficiaries offered prayers and goodwill messages for both the businessman and the governor whose birthday inspired the charitable act.
