By: Odeh Favour Adiya
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has commissioned the newly remodelled and digitally equipped 80-bed Obingwa General Hospital in Mgboko, the headquarters of Obingwa Local Government Area.
During the event which took place on Tuesday, Governor Otti officially renamed the facility after the late human rights activist, Chima Ubani.
Speaking at the ceremony, Otti stated that the investment was part of his administration’s efforts to modernise public healthcare and restore public confidence in state-owned medical facilities.
He emphasized that healthcare remains central to his administration’s development agenda, particularly in improving access to quality medical services and reducing avoidable deaths among mothers and newborns.
The governor noted that the facility would expand access to healthcare for hundreds of thousands of residents in Obingwa and neighbouring communities, adding that its strategic location would also serve residents of Aba.
Otti expressed satisfaction with the hospital’s modern features, which include a healing garden, a technology-driven data management system, real-time inter-facility collaboration capabilities, technology-assisted laboratory and scan analysis, a well-equipped theatre and eye-care units, observation rooms, and a renewable energy system designed to support uninterrupted power supply.
He said, “We have reached a new milestone in the effort to modernise our health institutions to reflect the spirit of this age.”
“This facility should remain open every night and day. It operates for 24 hours a day, Saturdays and Sundays inclusive.”
“Whoever comes here for medical reasons must receive the attention and support they need, whatever their social or economic conditions.”
Explaining his decision to rename the hospital after Chima Ubani, Otti noted that it was a tribute to the late activist’s courage, compassion, and lifelong commitment to justice, democracy, and the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.
Recalling Ubani’s role as a pro-democracy campaigner, Students’ Union President at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Executive Director of the Civil Liberties Organisation, the governor described him as “a mentor of the masses, one who died in pursuit of the very ideals that he lived for.”
He added that the honour was intended not only to preserve Ubani’s memory but also to inspire present and future generations to live lives of courage, service, and integrity.
Otti assured that his administration would continue to support the family of the late activist while collaborating with medical professionals and other stakeholders to strengthen healthcare delivery in Abia.
The governor further revealed that community leaders had been incorporated into efforts to protect the facility, while cautioning against any acts of vandalism.
In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, described the 80-bed facility as clear evidence of Otti’s commitment to building a future-ready healthcare system in Abia State.
Prof. Uche disclosed that within three years in office, the Otti administration had embarked on 301 infrastructural projects in the health sector, including the construction and equipping of 277 Primary Health Centres to meet the standard set by the governor.
He explained that the Obingwa facility is a digital hospital structured to allow women in labour at various primary health centres to be seamlessly linked to the main hospital for advanced medical support.
“Obingwa has received more than a fair share of these projects, including 18 primary health centres, 13 of them under Project Ekwueme and five under Impact project,” Uche stated.
Also speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer of the Abia State Hospitals Management Board, Dr. Odochi Azubuike, recalled that the hospital was originally built under the Local Government SURE-P programme in partnership with Abia State and commissioned in 2015.
She noted that the Otti administration met the facility in a dilapidated condition, completely lacking admissions, drugs, or functional equipment.
Stakeholders present at the event delivered separate speeches, including the Senator representing Abia South, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; the Labour Party State Chairman, Hon. Peter Azubuike; the Labour Party candidate for Obingwa, Osisioma/Ugwunagbo Federal Constituency, Dr. Okey Nwambu; the Labour Party candidate for Obingwa West Constituency, Chief Mrs. Victoria Dibunma Onwubiko; the Mayor of Obingwa LGA, Hon. Maxwell Nwadike; and Eze Nwabiaraije Eneogwe.
They all expressed gratitude to the governor for the hospital and other developmental projects in Obingwa, while assuring that the people of Obingwa would vote overwhelmingly for Otti and his party members.
