Allegations of looting of medical equipment from the Federal Government’s Mother and Child Care Hospital at Oke-Oniti, Osogbo, have sparked controversy in Osun State.
The 100-bed hospital, constructed under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and commissioned in 2022 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme, was designed to improve maternal and child healthcare in the state. However, the facility has remained unused since commissioning by the State Government
On Monday, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun raised alarm over alleged removal of equipment from the hospital. In a statement signed by its Director of Media and Information, Chief Kola Olabisi, the party called on the Federal Government to investigate what it described as “sharp practices” by officials of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s administration.
Kola Olabisi alleged that “some concerned citizens raised alarm days ago that individuals believed to be part of Governor Adeleke’s administration had allegedly invaded the FG facility to cart away medical equipment, possibly in anticipation of an accreditation team’s inspection visit to the Osun State University Teaching Hospital (UNIOSUNTH) in Osogbo.”
Reacting to the development, the Chief Medical Director of UNIOSUNTH, Dr. Emmanuel Babatunde Afolabi, denied any looting but confirmed that equipment was relocated from the federal hospital to the state-owned teaching hospital.
According to him, the decision was taken because the federal facility had been lying idle due to lack of personnel, while the items were needed for accreditation of postgraduate medical programmes.
“The equipment at the hospital is battery-based and was already deteriorating. For our accreditation process, we needed them urgently. We did not loot any property — we only relocated them for accreditation purposes,” Afolabi explained.
The controversy has deepened political tension in the state, with the APC insisting on a federal probe, while the state government maintains it acted in the interest of strengthening medical training at UNIOSUNTH.
