Weed takes over abandoned hospital project

A newly completed, multi-million naira hospital project in the Dobi community of the Gwagwalada Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory has been taken over by weed, Abuja Metro reports. Our correspondent, who visited the 50-bed hospital on Tuesday, observed that weeds, grasses, and reptiles have taken over the entire facility. It was also observed […]

A newly completed, multi-million naira hospital project in the Dobi community of the Gwagwalada Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory has been taken over by weed, Abuja Metro reports.

Our correspondent, who visited the 50-bed hospital on Tuesday, observed that weeds, grasses, and reptiles have taken over the entire facility.

It was also observed that some of the health centre’s ceilings are caving in, while some of the equipment inside the facility are covered in dust.

Mr. Mohammed Usman, a youth leader in the community, who conducted our reporter round the facility, said the health centre was completed over a year ago but has not been put to use.

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He explained that the 50-bed health centre was a constituency project facilitated by the FCT’s senator, Heebah Ireti Kingibe. 

He added that the project was completed without being handed over to the community.

He noted that residents of Dobi and neighbouring villages were excited when the project was first sited in their community but have been left stranded without access to the facility for medical treatment.

According to him, the abandonment of the facility has taken a toll on patients who sometimes have to travel to Gwagwalada town or to a private hospital to seek medical attention.

He said the newly completed health centre, which was supposed to serve as a lifeline for residents and surrounding villages, has been abandoned.

“When Senator HeebahIretiKingibe came to lay the foundation of the health centre, the people of Dobi and the neighbouring villages saw it as a big relief. But since the facility was completed nearly two years ago, it has not been put to use. As you can see, weeds and grasses have taken over the facility,” he said.

Usman added that residents mostly depend on a single clinic built by the council authorities, which also serves patients from neighbouring villages.

He said that a few members of the youth group in the community have written to the senator’s aide about the need to commission and hand over the facility, but there has been no positive response for a year now.

“At least, if the facility is commissioned and handed over to the community, it will also be a credit to the senator herself, as the people she represents will feel the impact of her constituency project in the Dobi community,” he said.

In response, Mr. Emmanuel John, a legislative aide and head of Senator Kingibe’s constituency office, attributed the delay in commissioning and handing over of the facility to “administrative issues.”

According to him, the health centre has been completed, but the challenges lie with staffing and running costs, which he said are responsible for the delay.

He said the senator is already making moves to resolve the situation as part of her wider commitment to improve healthcare service delivery not only in the Dobi community but across the FCT.

“Actually, the health centre project in the Dobi community has been completed, but the bottleneck has been the management. I believe those challenges will be resolved. Any moment from now, the contractor will return to the site to tidy up the facility, and it will be put to use,” he said.

John noted that the health centre will be handed over to the FCT Hospital Management Board before it becomes operational.