The Chairman of the Rumuokwuta Council of Chiefs, Eze Anthony Ndamzi Woherem, Eze Ebokemini of Rumuokwuta kingdom has commended Governor Nyesom Wike for choosing Rumuokwuta as the host community for the world class Dr. Peter Odili Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Diagnostic Treatment Centre.
Speaking to newsmen shortly after the foundation laying ceremony at the centre, Eze Woherem thanked the governor for the courage to set-up such a people-oriented project in Rumuokwuta and that the project is coming at the period cancer and cardiovascular disease is a huge threat to the lives of humans all over the world.
According to him, cancer is a slow executioner that does not ask anyone the political party he or she belongs to, “cancer is a scourge that doesn’t even care if you are a card carrying member of APC or PDP when it wants to strike, which is why we all must unite against the deadly scourge irrespective of one’s tribe, religion or party affiliations to kick cancer and cardiovascular diseases out of our state and our country”, he said.
He said that in 2020, cancer alone was the leading cause of about 10 million deaths worldwide, noting that a breakdown of such frightening figure shows that cancer was responsible for over 500,000 deaths with an estimate of 715,000 new cases in Africa while in Nigeria, an estimated 72,000 deaths occur annually and about 102,000 cases are diagnosed from estimated 200 million people every year.
Eze Woherem observed that this would be the first project of such magnitude sited in Rumuokwuta by any government since the history of the ancient Rumuokwuta Community.
He lamented that there is no much government presence in the area even as they tried their best to contribute both human and material resources for the development of the state and the country.
Eze Woherem appealed to Gov Wike to do more for the people of Rumuokwuta by establishing more people-oriented projects that would have direct impact on the lives of his people so as to curb youth restiveness, insecurity and other social vices.
