Controversy Trails WHO $20m Health Grant In Osun As, Oyetola, Fadahunsi Differ

By Segun Ojo, Ilesa

The Osun State Governor, Mr Adegboyega Oyetola and the Senator representing Osun East, Francis Fadahunsi has battled over the claim that $20million health care grant from the World Health Organization was mismanaged.

The issues which had been generating reactions in the state since last week took another turn on Monday as Senator Fadahunsi said he was not playing politics over the claim that the government mismanaged the grant. However, the Oyetola said that the Senator is not sincere and lack understanding over his claim.

The governor and Senator Fadahunsi differed over the alleged mismanagement of $20million health care grant while featuring on a radio Station, Rave FM during a programme, Frank Talk in Osogbo capital of Osun.

Senator Fadahunsi’s words: “My own problem is that what did the state government do with the grant from the world bank on health grant delivery. Most of the hospital for over two years that the money was received, hospitals are still in their previous poor condition. Instead of the governor to explain to the people on the matter that I raised, they started insulting me. The money was received two years ago and nothing has been done with it.”

Senator Fadahunsi

“They are lying that they have used the money to refurbish the health care system. In respect to my own constituency, Ilesha General Hospital which used to be the largest with fifteen doctors is now in mess and now overgrown with bush. Same thing with Ipetu, Ijebu Ijesha, Ifetedo and many more places. What has the governor done with $20million? Is it wrong for me to ask the question? I am not playing politics with the questions, I am an elder statesman.”

“Have they employed staff to the primary health care centre they claimed they refurbish? if that is done will people still be clustering at the hospitals at the major cities in the state? Noise is not part of democracy. If you do well you will account for it and if otherwise, you will do the same.

The some of the existing Primary Health Center was just painted and nothing else but they refused to employed people in the buildings. I am not asking his aides all these questions but I am asking the Governor. I have Oyetola’s two phone numbers and I called him on several occasions but it is too big for him to answer my calls that is why I come openly to ask. I am not asking his appointees. They lie too much.

Speaking about the debt profile he said Oyetola should stop blaming Aregbesola’s administration because he was his Chief of Staff. Oyetola only paid N6.7 billion as at 2019 out of N181 billion.

“I heard that he is paying civil servant, good but what of their deduction of the pension scheme? He is not remitting their deductions. The workers will be happy that Oyetola is paying them now but what about their future. He did not pay the arrears of the workers. He concluded.

Responding to the claims, Oyetola who was represented by his Chief Press Secretary Mr Ismail Omipidan, said, the claims of the senator has no bearing because they were unconnected.

“We are at no point claim that we are working on the General Hospital Ilesha, what we said was that we choose General Hospital according to senatorial districts. For Osun Central, we have Asubiaro hospital, West, Ejigbo and in East, Ifetedo. If you go to these hospitals, for Ejigbo, it has been completed, work is going on in Asubiaro and Ifetedo.

“For the Primary Health Care, Senator Fadahunsi needs to be properly educated on it. We did not take a loan but it was a grant as a result of our performance in the health sector and the grant is meant for the further upgrade in the facility in the health sector. We did not promise to work in the over 800 PHCs in the state but we are specific that we are going to attend to one per ward total 332 and out of it we have done 256. In Ijesha land where the senator comes from, we have done 47.”

He noted that when the federal government did an assessment on how the was money spent among the states that benefitted from the WHO grant, Osun came third in the ranking.

He lacks an understanding of the issues at stake and how the grant works. His claims are not fact-based. He added.