Ex-Governor Ikpeazu’s Aide Knocks Gov Otti's Health Commissioner For Condemning Hospital Built By Principal As ‘Unfit For Human Use’, Lists Facility Equipment

The immediate past governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu has denied that the Abia Multi Specialist Hospital in Aba which his administration constructed is unfit for human use.

Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo, the state health commissioner, on Wednesday, declared the newly constructed and inaugurated Abia Multi-Specialist Hospital in Aba as unfit for human use.

Okoronkwo, who spoke shortly after the inspection of the hospital, said that structural defects, poor ventilation, and unfitted equipment made the facility terrible.

The commissioner said the facility requires structural assessment to ascertain its capability to function as a hospital in the absence of the identified lapses, which also include a lack of running water.

Okoronkwo said, “The hospital is bad; the structure and the design approach were poorly done.

“The equipment is scattered all over the place and we cannot ascertain if they are still working or not because there is no power supply.

“It is a challenge. The idea of coming here is to look at the place to see if it is ready for use but from my assessment, it will take a while."

But reacting in a statement issued on Thursday, Ikpeazu's former spokesman, Sir Onyebuchi Ememanka, denied the claims about the hospital. He described the assessment made by Governor Alex Otti’s administration as "hypocrisy" taken too far.

"It has become public knowledge that one of the major policy thrusts of the present administration in Abia State is to seek to obliterate any positive thing about the preceding administration of Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu. Indeed, this has become an obsession for them.

“If there is one thing this present administration has done consistently since 29th of May, 2023, it is to try to rub mud on the records of its predecessor," Ememanka said.

Insisting that the hospital is one of the most modern health facilities in the state, Ikpeazu's former spokesman asked how the commissioner and medical personnel could determine a building with structural defects just by looking at it.

He said, "This lady is neither a civil nor structural engineer, she didn't go there with any building professional, yet she passed such ridiculous judgment on a solid and modern building complex.

"For clarity, the complex was designed by qualified architects and certified by requisite civil and structural engineers, while actual construction was done by the Abia State Infrastructural Development Agency through Direct Labor. The complex is there for everyone to go and see."

On the issue of poor ventilation, Ememanka, who attached several pictures of the hospital in the mail sent to SaharaReporters, stated that "a mere look at the pictures of the hospital building and perhaps, a visit to the place will simply provide the answer”.

“The entire complex is well-ventilated and airy," he added.

The statement further read, "The most disgusting and disturbing aspect of the comments of the Commissioner is on the state of the equipment in the hospital. She described them as ‘missing, old, and unfitted equipment’.

"For the avoidance of doubt, the entire equipment in the hospital is brand new. Not one single piece of equipment there is fairly used. Not one.”

Insisting that Governor Otti's administration was out to demonise his predecessor, Ememanka explained that his boss, former Governor Ikpeazu on May 26, 2023, appointed Professor Kelechi Okonta as the Chief Medical Director of the hospital but that he was sacked by Otti's health commissioner the first day she met him.

He noted that Okonta is a Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

"After May 29th, 2023, he sent a message to the new Governor as follows: “His Excellency Sir, This is to inform you that I was recently appointed the Chief Medical Director for the Abia Multi Specialist Hospital in Aba.

"I just went to see the hospital, and with the structure on the ground, I can tell you that I can turn that place into a world-class center with my local and international experience and collaboration.

“Abia State can set the pace in health care in the country and thereby help in restoring its lost glory. I am indeed very happy to contribute my quota to your government to actualize your mandate and give the common man a beacon of hope in our great state."

Ememanka lamented that "on the first day he met with this same Dr. Ngozi Okoronkwo who was then Special Adviser on Health, Professor Okonta's appointment was terminated and he promptly returned to UPTH".

Ememanka, however, listed equipment installed in the hospital by Ikpeazu's administration as including: "One CT Scan Machine made by Fujifilm Japan Scenario View 128 SLICES.

"One STATIC XRAY Machine made by Fujifilm Japan; One Mammogram Machine made by Fujifilm Japan; One "C ARM" MACHINE made by Allengers Healthcare India; One MOBILE XRAY MACHINE made by Allengers, India. Eight DIALYSIS MACHINES made by Fresenius SE and Co, Germany.”

Others are "One DIALYSIS MACHINE made by Baxter Prismaflex, USA. One Digiter/CR Machine made by Fujifilm Japan. Three 120kva UPS made by Fujifilm Japan. 96 220v batteries made by QUANTA, INDIA. 16 examination couches with mattresses. Eight patients trolleys and stretchers. 1O wheelchairs and five suction machines with trolley model double."

He said all the pieces of equipment in the hospital were bought brand new, adding that the CT Scan Machine is “the biggest and the best in the entire South East region”.

According to Ikpeazu's former spokesman, the hospital also has two ultramodern, brand-new mobile clinics.

"These mobile clinics are fully equipped with patient monitors, delivery couches, and oxygen cylinders among others. They were bought in from Germany. The hospital also has inbuilt living quarters for doctors.

"This is a medical facility that has 20 private wards and 12 amenity wards. This hospital can support cardiac, renal, and mother and child treatments as well as orthopedics.

"The equipment in the hospital as described above makes it an ultra-modern diagnostic center that can seamlessly support radiology, Microbiology, and hematology among others.

"There are three dedicated operating theaters that can provide for accident and emergency, gynecology, and other special surgical needs," he stated.

He said it was sad that “a hospital with this kind of facilities and equipment is what the Commissioner for Health describes as unfit for human use!”

"A serious government would have immediately taken possession of the new hospital and commenced plans to operationalize the place. But it took them over one month to even visit.

He continued, "Assuming, though by no means conceding that the medical facility is in a bad condition, what will a focused administration do? Is it not to take steps to correct whatever anomalies there may be and ensure that taxpayers' money spent in building the place is put to proper use for the good of the people?

"For the umpteenth time, I want to remind the Otti administration that the business of governance is a continuous process. When you come in, you continue from where your predecessors stopped and you carry on from there till your time is up. Your successor will continue from where you stopped because no Government in the world can solve all the problems of the people.

"The naked aversion this present administration has for the outgone administration is terrible. I have never seen a thing like this anywhere.

“The Ikpeazu administration inherited some projects that were started by the previous administration. The International Conference Center, the ASUBEB Building, and the new Government House were inherited from the administration before him. He completed them and gave due credence to his predecessor for their vision.

"He also commenced some afresh and completed them like the Abia Investment House. This is how government runs."

Taking a jab at the health commissioner, Ememanka questioned the health commissioner’s previous achievements, saying, “Before her appointment, which public health facility has she managed? I understand that she studied abroad and has been working with some international organizations where she focuses on Health Economics, Costing, and Budget.

“Nothing much is heard about her core clinical experience and hospital management.

"One thing is sure, if she wants to succeed as Health Commissioner, she should spend more of her time building on foundations already established and improve on what is on the ground.

“She has spent the last month throwing tantrums and racking up hotel bills, and if she is not careful, she will spend her entire time as Commissioner without achieving anything!”