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.
The state government, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Prince Dotun Oyelade, described as misleading reports suggesting that the facility was abandoned by the state government.
Oyelade explained that the hospital was not constructed by the Oyo State Government and was never officially or unofficially handed over to it for operation.
According to him, the facility is a Federal Government project facilitated by the 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 therefore maintained that the state government could not be held responsible for the facility’s failure to commence operations or decisions relating to its staffing, management and commissioning.
He also disclosed that the facility had suffered vandalism and looting before recent reports and political campaigns drew attention to its non-utilisation.
Oyelade recalled that The Punch had reported on August 15, 2025, that valuable equipment and installations had been removed from the facility by suspected vandals.
He said the Oyo State Government acknowledged the importance of the hospital to residents of Pakiotan and neighbouring communities and shared their concerns over the failure to put the facility to full use.
The commissioner, however, stressed that responsibility for the ownership, management, staffing and operationalisation of the facility should be properly attributed to the relevant Federal Government authorities.
Oyelade added that the state government knew how to utilise and deploy such a facility for the benefit of the people, while reiterating its commitment to improving access to healthcare across Oyo State.
He said the government would continue to support initiatives capable of improving the wellbeing of residents.
The commissioner urged the public to disregard attempts to portray the Pakiotan hospital as an abandoned project of the Oyo State Government, describing such claims as misleading.
