Inside abandoned 250-bed Ogun hospital where termites, others are patients

Kehinde recently lost her brother, Idowu, in a car accident. The 26-year-old struggled to hold back tears as she recounted the events leading to his death.

“Idowu was a 34-year-old mechanical engineer,” she began. “He had an accident just before Kobape in Abeokuta. Some civil defence officers rushed him to the Federal Medical Centre, but he died at the hospital gate.”

Kehinde recalled that when she arrived, a doctor told her mother that if Idowu had received medical attention just five minutes earlier, he might have survived. A civil defence officer mentioned that had the government completed the hospital opposite the state secretariat, he could have been saved.

The hospital in question is a 250-bed facility built by former governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun in the Oke Mosan area. The modern hospital, painted white and equipped with 10 ventilators, was over 80% complete when Amosun left office. Before stepping down in 2019, ex-President Muhammadu Buhari visited the hospital to inspect the facility. The administration reportedly paid N5 billion of the approximately N7 billion project cost, inspiring the contractors to continue work.

However, at a December 2023 State Council of Obas meeting, Governor Dapo Abiodun confirmed that the hospital was about 20% from completion. He stated that due to financial constraints, his administration could not continue the construction and planned to concession the hospital to Afrexim Bank and a medical group.

“We realized the state could not afford to run the hospital, given that our tertiary hospital, Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), already costs nearly N300 million monthly in salaries alone,” Abiodun said. “If run properly, the hospital could attract medical tourism, so we plan to lease it out under a concession agreement.” He promised to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Afrexim Bank and the medical group by the end of the year.

Yet, eight months after the governor’s promise, the hospital remains in a state of neglect. When our correspondent visited, overgrown bushes surrounded the building, the white paint was fading, and there were clear signs of abandonment, with dirty windows and dust everywhere.

Inside, medical equipment appeared to be in disuse. The hospital, which includes a completed oxygen plant, also had large quantities of unused medical and electrical equipment. Generators, washing machines, and other devices were installed but covered and only partially operational. A document from the government indicated the hospital was initially planned to start with a 60-bed Acute Surgical and Outpatient Centre.

One contractor, speaking anonymously, confirmed that all necessary equipment, except for the MRI machine, had been delivered. The MRI machine was procured but not installed because it cannot be set up until the facility is ready. He also noted that the contractor spent over N300,000 monthly on diesel to maintain the equipment to prevent it from deteriorating.

The contractor revealed that about five years ago, after Abiodun assumed office, his company proposed a plan for the government to pay N100 million monthly to cover the N2 billion remaining for the hospital’s completion, but the offer was not accepted.

The hospital is also meant to serve as a training site for medical students from OOUTH and nursing schools in the state, and provide premium healthcare services in partnership with visiting medical teams. However, due to ongoing neglect, it would now require about N10 billion to complete, according to a source within the Ogun State Ministry of Health.

Reacting to the situation, Afolabi Orekoya, spokesperson for the opposition People’s Democratic Party in Ogun State, criticized the abandonment of the hospital, noting that residents are suffering from a lack of adequate healthcare. He questioned the governor’s priorities, saying, “Why has Gov Abiodun abandoned such a vital project while pursuing others like the cargo airport?”

In response, Tunde Oladunjoye, Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, dismissed Orekoya’s comments as an attempt to deflect attention from internal party issues. He argued that the present administration has already made significant efforts to address other abandoned and incomplete projects.

Efforts to contact the state Commissioner for Health, Tomi Coker, were unsuccessful, as she did not respond to calls or messages. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Information, Kayode Akinmade, also declined to comment due to a family bereavement.