August 27, 2025
PRESS RELEASE
Okpebholo’s Reckless ₦2.5 Billion UBTH Allocation.
… Edo People Deserve Hospitals, Not Eye-Service Politics
…Don’t give to Caesar what belongs to Odogwu
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Edo State Chapter, condemns in the strongest terms the decision of the Edo State Government under Senator Monday Okpebholo to allocate a staggering ₦2.5 billion to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), a federal institution, at a time when state-owned hospitals are in ruins according to him.
This misadventure is not only reckless but a glaring example of the 2027 election fixation and desperate eye-service politics that has defined Okpebholo’s almost one year in office. Edo people are being made to suffer while their resources are squandered on federal facilities that are not the primary responsibility of the state.
We align with the position of the Association of Resident Doctors under Edo State Government Employment (ARD EDGE), who have openly decried this misplaced priority. Their statement exposes what Edo people already know—our hospitals are collapsing, yet the Governor prefers to chase cheap popularity.
Let us be clear:
Stella Obasanjo Hospital, rebuilt with state funds, remains under lock and key, with less than a tenth in use. Why is ₦2.5 billion not channelled here?
Edo Specialist Hospital continues to cry for expansion and adequate support, but has been ignored by a government obsessed with pleasing political benefactors and seeking headlines.
The General Hospital in Abudu is no more than a mere patent medicine store and yet, ₦2.5 billion, that belongs to Odogwu is been given to Caesar!
Meanwhile, Edo doctors, who only recently suspended their strike, still have their legitimate demands unmet. Rather than engage with them and strengthen Edo’s health system, the Governor is busy dashing billions to a federal hospital, in a display of sycophancy and ill-thought politicking.
Edo people obviously did not elect a Governor to act as a philanthropist to federal institutions. They elected a leader to fix our hospitals, build capacity, and ensure access to healthcare for all. By neglecting this sacred duty, Okpebholo has shown that he is unprepared, unserious, and out of touch with the realities of Edo citizens.
We in the PDP demand that this decision be reversed and that urgent attention be given to Edo-owned hospitals which directly serve our people. Edo deserves working hospitals, not political monuments built with eyes on 2027 elections.
This is not leadership. This is reckless waste. And Edo people will not forget.
Signed
Chris Osa Nehikhare
Publicity Secretary, Caretaker Committee
PDP Edo State
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