BY EMMA PETER
ABUJA — The Gwagwalada Area Council administration has intensified efforts to improve the wellbeing of residents while also advancing infrastructure delivery across the area, with the Executive Chairman, Hon. Kasim Mohammed, taking fresh steps in response to reported diphtheria cases and the completion of key development projects.
As part of measures to contain the reported cases of diphtheria, Mohammed visited the Infectious Disease Centre (IDC) at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH), Gwagwalada, where he assessed the situation and directed the Council’s Health Department to immediately commence sensitisation campaigns and awareness programmes across communities.
The Chairman also ordered the implementation of other necessary control measures to prevent further spread of the disease and protect residents.
Speaking during the visit, the Chief Medical Director of UATH, Prof. Tahir, assured the Chairman that there was no need for panic, explaining that diphtheria was not peculiar to the Federal Capital Territory.
He, however, stressed the need for continued vigilance and appropriate public health measures, assuring that the teaching hospital had the capacity to manage the situation.
The CMD commended Mohammed for his prompt intervention and proactive approach, while requesting the establishment of a mop-up ward to decongest the hospital’s existing halls and enhance the management of patients.
In response, the Chairman reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to protecting the health and wellbeing of residents, assuring that the Council would continue to support relevant health authorities in containing the disease.
He further directed that a vehicle be provided for emergency response and ordered the release of funds to support the necessary control measures.

While responding to the health concerns, the Council administration is also preparing to commission several completed projects in the coming days, signalling what it described as a new chapter in infrastructure delivery across Gwagwalada.
One of the projects is the Milano/Yimi Road, which was initiated by an earlier administration but was subsequently abandoned before the present administration took it up and completed the work.
The completion of the road and other projects is expected to provide residents with improved infrastructure while demonstrating the administration’s commitment to completing projects that have direct impact on communities.
The developments in healthcare and infrastructure highlight the administration’s broader approach of combining immediate interventions with long-term development initiatives.
With the commissioning of the completed projects expected in the coming days, residents are set to witness the unveiling of infrastructure delivered under the Mohammed administration, alongside renewed efforts to strengthen public health response and community awareness.
The administration has maintained that its priority remains the welfare of residents and the delivery of projects and services capable of improving living conditions across the ten wards of Gwagwalada Area Council.
