Edo State governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has described as a scam the recent commissioning of Stella Obasanjo Hospital in Benin City by former Governor Godwin Obaseki.
He said construction work at the facility is ongoing and equipment were yet to be procured by the last administration before it hurriedly commissioned it as a completed project.
Governor Okpebholo pledged to immediately correct the structural defects at the hospital in order to reposition it to serve the people better.
The governor spoke when he inspected facilities at the hospital on Tuesday evening, alongside Deputy Governor Dennis Idahosa and the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Cyril Adams Oshiomhole.
Governor Okpebholo said: “After inspecting the facilities, it is clear that nothing was done here by the Obaseki-led administration as they just painted the building and fixed air conditioners to deceive the people to think the building was completed.
“I don’t know what Obaseki and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) government did.
“This is a sham. Construction was ongoing when he commissioned the building. This is unacceptable. It is unfair. It is cheating to Edo people. We will come back again to talk with the contractor and see how to commission it for Edo people.”
Dr Oshiomhole, who took the governor round the facilities, said the contractor has a lot of explanations to make regarding the project.
“His Excellency has gone round to see the work and we have a lot of talking to do with the consultant and contractor because we thought that, by now, the work would have been almost ready.
“This building was commissioned by the last administration politically, but coming here it is like an abandoned building at the other side. A lot of explanations need to be done at this point.
“I came here with a team of doctors, surgeons and other medical experts so that they will have their input and there were some structural defects we saw.
“We alerted the contractor and promised to correct those errors,” the Commissioner for Health stated in a press release by Fred Itua, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor.
