Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has been accused of making false comments about the Stella Obasanjo Hospital in an attempt to dodge payment to contractors.
According to Crusoe Osagie, Media Adviser to former Governor Godwin Obaseki, the hospital’s outpatient and inpatient departments have been completed, fully equipped, and are ready for operation
Osagie stated that an agreement has been signed between the State Government and a management company to operate the hospital, which includes training civil servants in the health sector to handle the hospital’s advanced technologies
He said the only buildings still under construction within the hospital compound are the mortuary building and the administrative buildings, which are meant to serve as a medical hub
Recall that Governor Okpebholo while inspecting the hospital facility in the company of the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Cyril Oshiomhole and other officials described the commissioning of the hospital as a scam, claiming that the previous administration had only painted the building and fixed air conditioners to deceive the public
However, Osagie countered that Okpebholo’s comments were part of a plan to dodge payment to contractors and divert funds to settle political actors. Osagie urged Okpebholo to focus on developing the state instead of peddling lies and falsehoods
“We gathered that top officials of the Okpebholo-led government are currently playing hardball with the contractors, trying to arm-twist them and demanding as much as 30 per cent of the total amount owed to the contractors as kickbacks before payments can be made.
At the end of the Obaseki administration, the former governor left about N30 billion in the government’s coffers. These funds are more than sufficient to pay off these contractors and meet all other immediate State obligations but the Okpebholo-led government is dodging the payment of the contractors because they are diverting these funds to settle godfathers and the lions and tigers who played the main role in getting him into office.
“We are therefore drawing the attention of Edo people to the current theatrics being carried out by Okpebholo around the Stella Obasanjo Hospital Project, to let them know that it is all a ploy to divert funds meant for the project to settle political actors.
“The attention of the good people of Edo State and Nigeria is also drawn to the plan of the Okpebholo-led government to deceive the public into believing that there is no equipment in the hospital so that they can appropriate new funds to equip a hospital that is already fully equipped.
“Edo people must rise up against this heist and prevent Okpebholo and his cronies from carting away with our collective patrimony.
“It is therefore important to state without equivocation that the claim that the Stella Obasanjo Hospital is not completed is a blatant lie that must be challenged by all well-meaning Edo people.
“Hospitals are often made up of two main sections: the Outpatient Department (OPD) and the Inpatient Department (IPD). For the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, which was commissioned by the immediate past governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the outpatient and inpatient departments have been completed, fully equipped, and ready for operation.”
