The 80-bed Federal Government Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, Ogbomoso North Local Government Area of Oyo State, has been looted and vandalised by suspected criminals—months before it could serve its first patient.
The facility, fully stocked with beds, drugs, laboratory tools, and other medical consumables worth millions of naira, was commissioned on May 27, 2023, but has remained non-operational. The project was facilitated by former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, and handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.
During a tour of the damaged hospital, the Onipakiotan of Pakiotan, Oba James Oyetunji Ojo, decried the destruction, recalling that some cables had been vandalised even before the commissioning but were replaced at the time.
“The destruction of this infrastructure is a major concern for the community and requires urgent action. We must ensure those who vandalise public property are held accountable,” the monarch said.
According to him, intruders carted away 150 solar batteries, cables, electrical appliances, ceiling fans, and other equipment. He stressed that the community had donated eight plots of land for the project to bring quality maternal and child healthcare closer to residents, but the facility’s abandonment had left it vulnerable.
Oba Ojo urged the Ministry of Health to either commence operations immediately or hand over the hospital to the community for proper management.
The Chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government, Ogunlade Gbadegesin, also expressed disappointment, pledging to deploy security personnel to protect what remains until the hospital becomes functional.
