BENIN – Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, former First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan; former governor of Sokoto State and Senator for Sokoto South, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal and former governors of Edo State, Chief Lucky Igbiendion and Odigie Oyegun, among other prominent leaders, on Wednesday, took turns to pour encomium on the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, for his sterling and impactful leadership in Edo State over the last eight years.
The leaders celebrated the governor for his commitment to the welfare of Edo people, prioritizing nuanced reforms and projects across various sectors of the State’s economy, including health, education, economy, and infrastructure, among others, which have significantly impacted and improved the lives of Edo citizens.
They spoke when the Governor led them to the commissioning of the newly rebuilt and expanded 250-bed Stella Obasanjo Hospital, the Crèche, and Food Court at the State Secretariat Complex, among other projects, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
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Others at the event include the Minister of Health, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate represented by the Chief Medical Director of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Prof. Darlington Obaseki; the Edo State First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki; Chief of Staff to the Edo State Governor, Osaigbovo Iyoha; former First Lady of Cross Rivers State, Obioma Imoke; wife the candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2024 governorship election, Ifeyinwa Ighodalo; Provost of the Edo State College of Nursing Sciences (ESCNS), Prof. Patricia Ukaigwe; members of the State’s Executive Council and traditional rulers, among others.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo while commending Governor Obaseki for his multi sectoral reforms over the last eight years, described the governor as a builder who has impacted on the lives of his people.
He said, “I want to thank you for remembering my late wife Stella Obasanjo. I was here before and coming here now, what I see is wonderful. You are not only a builder but you are a reformer who has positively impacted on the lives of his people.
“I commend you for improving on some of the things your predecessor did like this Stella Obasanjo Hospital.”
Reminiscing on incidents to the construction and naming of the Stella Obasanjo Hospital and commending the Governor for prioritizing the rebuilding and expansion of the hospital, the former President noted, “When this hospital was established 17 years ago, it was to keep the memory of my late wife. By honouring her, you are also honouring me.”
Describing the governor as a pacesetter, Obasanjo further advised political leaders on quality and efficient service in whatever responsibility given to them at the national, State, or local government level, with a focus on human capital development.
On her part, the former First Lady of Nigeria, while commending the governor for the project, said Obaseki has restored hope to the people of the State while repositioning Edo as a hub for quality and affordable healthcare services in the Country.
She stated, “The newly rebuilt Stella Obasanjo Hospital is a testament to the power of a visionary leader and a commitment to build a strong healthy State and nation.
“This hospital has become a shining example of what can be accomplished and for the well-being of our people. We commend you for this great effort and we can see the realization of your dreams to deliver quality and accessible healthcare.
This is a testament of establishing Edo State as a regional hub in terms of quality and affordable healthcare services as it brings hope to Edo people.”
According to Mrs. Jonathan, “This hospital will serve as a reference center bridging the gap between primary healthcare and specialized healthcare and ensuring that everyone irrespective of their background will get the care they need.
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“I thank the governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and the people of the State for keeping the legacy of our late First Lady through this hospital. The efforts of this hospital will not only improve healthcare but raise the bar for effective service delivery in our nation, Nigeria.”
In his response, Governor Obaseki while reeling the impact of his government’s reforms and projects across various sectors of the State, said his government has delivered all promises made to the people of the State and placed the State on the path of sustainable growth and development.
She said, “This is not just infrastructure but about sharing some human values of compassion, care, and hope; that is what this facility is all about.
“I didn’t know how bad our healthcare system was until COVID-19 hit the world. It was the turning point for us as nobody could move, even the wealthiest amongst us. I said to my God that if he helps us through COVID-19, I will do something remarkable for our healthcare system and our people in Edo State.
“We thought through a health improvement plan for Edo during COVID-19 with a plan to be the healthcare hub. COVID-19 helped us mobilize over 5,000 doctors within our vicinity to help us respond to the pandemic but what was missing was a plan to tie our health facilities together.”
Obaseki continued: “Healthcare is not just about hospitals or just the facilities but also about human capital to help people. It’s expensive but we must find a way of financing it. We redesigned our healthcare programme through our health improvement scheme.
“The primary healthcare system is the first contact with our citizens and we set up the primary healthcare agency and today we have the most viable primary healthcare system in Nigeria. We have refurbished 60 primary healthcare centers and our goal is to ensure each ward in the State has a primary healthcare center.
“Doctors, nurses and other health professionals are what we focus on. We focused on human capacity. Most of our health institutions lost accreditation. We focused on rebuilding them; we rebuilt our school of nursing and it’s the best in Nigeria today.
“We also rebuilt the school of health technology that produces the bulk of Staff for our primary healthcare centers and last week, we matriculated the first set of students. In a few years-time, we will produce the needed manpower for the health sector in Edo State and Nigeria.”
The governor further stated, “We focused on health financing and started the Edo Health Insurance Scheme and today we have the most viable health insurance scheme in Nigeria. We have over 300,000 citizens under our health insurance programme.
“Chief Igbinedion acquired this property and set up this hospital which was run down when he left power. We used it for COVID-19 as a treatment and isolation and decided to upgrade and rebuild the hospital to provide specialist care as it sits on 20 hectares of land.”
He noted that the upgrade and expansion of the world-class facility was part of efforts by his government to make the State a hub for medical tourism, adding, “We brought down the Central hospital and moved the core of medical facilities here.”
Expressing displeasure over the detention of the State’s Accountant General and other signatories to the State’s account, Obaseki said, “This hospital will be viable but I wonder if the people coming will build on what we have started. Today, I am not a happy man because my contractors have slowed down work because Edo has not been able to function properly. The Accountant General and all those signatory to Edo State Account have been abducted by the EFCC and I can’t act even when I am still the governor.”
He charged, “My advice to political leaders is that we would not know the day we will be ill and need facilities like this. For those of our brothers who go to Abuja trying to spoil what we are doing in Edo State, I pray you don’t need the services provided here. As political leaders, we should step back and look at our people, not our narrow political interests.”
