Three months ago, Adaze Enwanta Governor Godwin Obaseki’s Information Commissioner was asked to tell the world that the
‘Edo govt is relocating, not demolishing Central Hospital’. This was the title of the Nigerian Observer report them.
The report said: “The Edo State Government has said it is relocating and not demolishing the Central Hospital, Benin City.
In a statement, the Edo State Commissioner for Communications and Orientation, Hon. Andrew Adaze Emwanta JP, said the hospital is being relocated to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, contrary to the false and malicious statement by the Edo State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) purporting the demolition of the hospital.
According to him, “The attention of the Edo State Government has been drawn to a malicious and false statement by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, alleging that the government plans to demolish the Central Hospital in Benin City.
“The government is not demolishing, but relocating the hospital. Besides, we have the ultra-modern Edo Specialist Hospital within the same premises. The Central Hospital has been in existence for over 100 years and most of the facilities there are now very old and do not support modern-day healthcare service delivery.
“The hospital is now being relocated to the Stella Obasanjo Hospital which is being expanded and improved to deliver quality health services to Edo people, while the old Central Hospital will be transformed.”
Emwanta further noted: “Edo people, on September 19, 2020 gave Governor Godwin Obaseki a mandate under the Making Edo Great Again (MEGA) Manifesto to develop Edo State. The ongoing infrastructural development and institutional reforms are the second and third thematic pillars, respectively, of the MEGA Manifesto of the present administration. So, there is no retreat or surrender on the developmental mandate freely given by Edo people to our beloved Governor.
“The general public is hereby urged to disregard the propaganda by the opposition in the state that is rudderless and aimed at creating an issue, where none exists.”
I am asking Enwanta to tell Edo people what has happened since he went silent:- Which is going to be transformed? The old demolished Central Hospital which Governor Godwin Obaseki could not rebuild, retool, rejig or renovate because there was lack of an MOU?
Has an issue been created where there is none as far the Central Hospital is concerned? No because ab initio, the demolition of Central Hospital was and is an issue! It has been destroyed, eliminated, removed from existence. It can no longer be called by that name. Obaseki ended that.
This is the really interesting part. As the demolition got underway last week, Enwanta lost his voice as his boss took over. The title on Mr Obaseki’s Social media pages of the Central Hospital issue was *Obaseki: Decentralised healthcare system ‘ll improve efficient, quality healthcare delivery to Edo people*. The report said, ” Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has assured Edo residents that the state government’s policy on decentralising healthcare system will enhance the efficiency, accessibility and quality of healthcare service delivery in the state.
He said, “*Our strategy is to decentralise healthcare. We don’t need that central model. We don’t need a central hospital any more*. What we need are decentralised health clinics with Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) across the state, which will be the first point of contact for patients.
“It is only based on reference from these units that you now come to a specialist hospital. We intend to provide world-class services that will stop medical tourism and you can afford these services by keying into our health insurance policy.”
“The designs for specialist hospitals across the three senatorial districts are already on as we look at other options, especially in Edo North. This project will be ready by the last quarter of 2022 as the facility will be open for the first set of patients when we are celebrating Alaghodaro this year,” he reassured, adding that the project will be completed as stipulated and not abandoned.
To expatiate the confusion that the demolition of Central Hospital has created for the Edo state government, Mr Obaseki’s Commissioner for Health, Prof. Obehi Akoria, who is completely ignorant of what is actually going on or happening or the mindset of the governor regarding healthcare with the state’s inability to fix ONE Primary Healthcare centre, employ a doctor or nurse, like her colleague Adaze is quoted as saying “… the relocation of the Central Hospital to Stella Obasanjo Hospital is an integration, noting that most of the services in the old hospital have been moved to Edo Specialist Hospital. We are not phasing out the specialist hospital but upgrading the hospital,” the commissioner reportedly said.
So for Adaze, the demolition of Central Hospital is a transformation. For Obaseki it is decentralization and for Akoria it is integration. One hospital, three objectives. This is the confusion. Edo government is confused. Very.
Osehobo is Assistant Publicity Secretary, APC, Edo State.