Oyo Community Demands Action Over Idle Hospital Looting

Residents of Pakiotan in Ogbomoso North Local Government Area, Oyo State, have called on the Federal Ministry of Health to urgently revive operations at the 80-bed Mother and Child Specialist Hospital, following extensive vandalism and theft at the facility.

The hospital, inaugurated on May 27, 2023, and handed over to the ministry through the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, was equipped with beds, laboratory tools, drugs, and other medical supplies to serve as an urban healthcare centre. It was facilitated by former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare.

The Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Ojo, speaking during an inspection on Wednesday, lamented that the facility had remained unused for over a year after commissioning.

“The destruction of this infrastructure has become a major concern for the community and requires urgent and coordinated action,” he said. “We must ensure that those who willfully destroy or vandalise public property are held accountable.”

The monarch revealed that thieves carted away 150 solar batteries, electrical appliances, ceiling fans, cables, and other items. He noted that the community had released eight plots of land for the hospital, intending to improve maternal and child healthcare access.

“If the hospital had been put to use, such incidents would not have happened,” he added, urging the ministry or UCH to either begin services immediately or hand the facility over to the community for management.

Chairman of Ogbomoso North LGA, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, described the vandalism as a “huge setback,” pledging to engage security personnel to protect what remains of the hospital until it becomes operational

PUNCH