Suspected hoodlums vandalise specialist hospital in Oyo

Suspected hoodlums have reportedly vandalised the 80-bed Federal Government Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State.

The hospital, yet operational, has been equipped with medical and other equipment such as beds, drugs, laboratory equipment, and other medical consumables valued at millions of naira.

Tribune Online gathered that the project, which was facilitated by the former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, was completed and commissioned on May 27, 2023, and subsequently handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

Conducting newsmen round the premises, the Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Oyetunji Ojo, who took the newsmen round the facility on Wednesday evening, condemned the incident.

He recalled that some cables were vandalised even before the commissioning, and replaced by the former minister, Dare.

The monarch 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.”

He disclosed that the community released eight plots of land to the government for the building of the specialist hospital in Oyo.

This decision, according to him, is aimed at bringing quality maternal and child healthcare closer to the people.

He, however, lamented that the facilities have not been put to use since it was commissioned years back.

The monarch, therefore, appealed to the ministry through UCH to either commence operations immediately or hand the hospital over to the community for proper management.

“If the hospital had been put to use, such incidents would not have happened.”

Also speaking, the Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, expressed disappointment that such an edifice was 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 said.

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