Pakiotan 80-Bed Hospital Is Federal Project, Not Oyo Govt’s — Oyelade

The Oyo State Government has clarified that it is not responsible for the non-utilisation of the 80-bed Mother and Child Specialist Hospital in Pakiotan, Ogbomoso North Local Government Area.

In a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, the government described reports portraying the facility as an abandoned Oyo State Government project as misleading.

Oyelade said the hospital was neither constructed by the state government nor officially or unofficially handed over to it for operation.

According to him, the facility was a Federal Government project facilitated by former Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare, and inaugurated on May 27, 2023.

He said available reports indicated that the hospital was subsequently handed over to the Federal Ministry of Health through the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan.

The commissioner said the state government could therefore not be held responsible for the facility’s failure to commence operations or decisions concerning its staffing, management and commissioning.

Oyelade also disclosed that the facility had suffered vandalism and looting before recent reports and political campaigns drew attention to its non-utilisation, recalling a Punch report of August 15, 2025, that equipment and installations had been removed by suspected vandals.

He said the state government acknowledged the importance of the hospital to residents of Pakiotan and neighbouring communities and shared their concerns over its failure to become operational.

However, Oyelade maintained that responsibility for the ownership, management, staffing and operationalisation of the facility rested with the relevant Federal Government authorities.

He urged the public to disregard attempts to portray the hospital as an abandoned Oyo State Government project, reiterating the state’s commitment to improving access to healthcare across the state.