Hoodlums Loot Unused 80-bed Hospital In Oyo Donated By Sunday Dare

Hoodlums Loot Unused 80-bed Hospital In Oyo Donated By Sunday Dare

 The Federal Government’s 80-bed Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, has suffered extensive vandalism at the hands of unidentified individuals, despite never being put to use since its commissioning.

Equipped with beds, drugs, laboratory tools, and other essential medical supplies, the facility was envisioned as a vital urban health centre.

It was facilitated by former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, and officially inaugurated on May 27, 2023.

The hospital was handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

On Wednesday, the Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Ojo, led journalists through the now-ransacked facility, expressing deep concern over the destruction.

“This infrastructure was meant to serve our people. Its destruction is a serious concern and demands urgent action,” the monarch said. “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.”

Oba Ojo recalled that even before the hospital’s inauguration, some cables had been vandalised and replaced by Dare. But the latest damage is far more severe.

“Since the handover, the facility has remained inaccessible. There’s no security presence, and no operations have begun. Recently, we noticed signs of intrusion.

When one of Dare’s aides joined us for inspection, we were shocked to find that all the cables, 150 solar batteries, electrical appliances, ceiling fans, and other valuables had been stripped,” he said.

The monarch emphasized that the community had donated eight plots of land for the hospital to improve maternal and child healthcare in the region. Yet, more than a year after its commissioning, the facility remains idle.

“However, non-utilization is no excuse for criminality,” he stressed. “The fact that the hospital hasn’t started operations does not justify the looting and destruction. It’s a painful loss for the entire community.”

He urged the Federal Ministry of Health, through UCH, to either activate the hospital immediately or hand it over to the community for proper management.

“If the hospital had been operational, this might have been prevented. But that doesn’t make the vandalism any less outrageous,” he added.

Also speaking, the Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, expressed disappointment over the abandonment of such a critical facility.

“So many valuable medical items have been looted, and others are at risk,” he said. “We will engage security personnel to protect what remains until the hospital is finally put to use.”

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