Suspected vandals have allegedly looted and vandalised the 80-bed Federal Government Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The hospital, which is yet operational, has been equipped with medical items, including; beds, drugs, laboratory equipment, and other medical consumables worth millions of naira.
The project, facilitated by the former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, was inaugurated on May 27, 2023, and subsequently handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital, Ibadan.
Conducting reporters round the facility, the Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Oyetunji Ojo, condemned the incident. He recalled that some cables were vandalised even before the inauguration, but were replaced by the former minister.
Oba Ojo said: “The destruction of this infrastructure has become a major concern for the community and requires urgent and coordinated action.’’
“We must ensure that those who willfully destroy or vandalise public property are held accountable. As the saying goes, offenders must be brought to book or the book brought to them.
“Since the handover, nothing has been happening here. We have no access to the facility and there’s no security. Recently, we noticed signs of intrusion, and when one of Dare’s aides joined us to inspect the site, we were shocked to discover that all the cables, 150 solar batteries, electrical appliances, ceiling fans, and other valuable items had been removed.”
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According to the monarch, the community released eight plots of land to the government for the building of the hospital, aimed at bringing quality maternal and child healthcare closer to the people, but that the facilities have not been put to use since it was inaugurated.
He appealed to the ministry, through UCH, to either start operations or hand the hospital over to the community for proper management, saying: “If the hospital had been put to use, such incidents would not have happened.”
Also, the Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, expressed disappointment for such an edifice to be abandoned.
“So many valuable medical items have been looted, and others are at risk. We will engage security personnel to safeguard what remains until the hospital is finally put into use,” he lamented.