Buhari, on the invitation of former Governor Oshiomhole, commissioned the hospital, tagged “5 star” on November 7, 2016 which, up till now has remained non-equipped and non-functional, creating the impression that it was nothing, but fraud.
Edo State branch of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), made the allegations in a statement in Benin City at the weekend, while reacting to the proposed working visit of the president to commission another project.
In the statement signed by its State Chairman, Chief Dan Osi Orbih, the PDP welcomed the president to Edo State and called on him to pay a second visit to the Central Hospital to enable him appreciate the disappointment of the people over what it described as “this central Hospital scandal of fraud and deceit.”
The main opposition party also called on President Buhari to direct relevant government agencies to commence immediate investigation and necessary action to bring the principal actors in the alleged fraud to book.
Below is full text of the statement:
Edo State PDP wishes to welcome the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, to Edo State, on his working visit.
Mr. President, we want to use this opportunity to remind you that about 2 years ago, just before the inauguration of the present state administration, you paid a visit to Edo state. In the course of your visit, the then Governor, Adams Aliyu Eric Oshiomhole invited you to commission the so-called “5star hospital” built and purportedly equipped by his administration.
It may interest you to know that since your visit in 2016, the “5star hospital” has neither recorded any out-patient, nor admitted any in-patient. Today, the building hosts rodents and reptiles.
It is now obvious that Governor Adams Oshiomhole cleverly executed the project as a scam to defraud the state and deny the people access to good health facilities.
Our concern over this despicable act, Mr. President, is not just that billions of taxpayers’ money was sunk into this phony project, but you were persuaded to commission a non-existent hospital that makes it look like you were party to the deceit and fraud.
While Edo people are now used to the fact that Adams can do anything to deceive the people to enrich himself, we are embarrassed at the attempt to use your person to commission a building that has only served as a center for internally displaced reptiles in Benin City.
Finally, Mr. President, as we welcome you to Edo State, we urge you to pay a second visit to the central Hospital to enable you appreciate the disappointment of the people over this central Hospital scandal of fraud and deceit.
We call on you to use your office to direct relevant government agencies to commence immediate investigation and necessary action to bring the principal actors to book.
Kindly prevail on Edo State government to avail Edo people the dividends of democracy, particularly in the health sector.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned four key projects, including the five star Central Hospital of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole administration on November 7 2016, with the President praising the ex-labor leader for his masses-oriented projects.
His words: “we can see what some of the APC Governors are doing and we can compare it to other places.”
On the new 200-bed Central Hospital, Oshiomhole told the President that the old Central Hospital was built in 1902, 114 years ago and “rather than do piecemeal renovation, we decided to build a new hospital; we demolished a portion of the old hospital built in 1902 and built this new hospital; my own idea is that public health institutions should not be inferior to private health institutions.”
“I am grateful to Mr. President for graciously accepting to come to commission this major project.”
Oshiomhole also said at the project commissioning that: “one of the things we have deliberately done is to put our resources where they will have maximum impact on the lives of our people.”
For us, he continued, “government’s responsibility is to focus on those things that will deliver the greatest happiness to the greatest number of citizens in the shortest possible time.”
Ironically, two years later, disillusioned Edo people have still not seen the benefit of the five star hospital that was supposedly built in their name.
