Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has commissioned a remodelled and digitally equipped 80-bed hospital in Obingwa Local Government Area, with the facility renamed after late human rights activist, Chima Ubani.
The hospital, located in Mgboko, the headquarters of Obingwa LGA, was commissioned on Tuesday as part of the state government’s efforts to modernise public healthcare and improve access to quality medical services.
Speaking at the commissioning, Otti said healthcare remained a key priority of his administration, particularly in reducing preventable deaths among mothers and newborns.
He said the hospital would provide medical services to hundreds of thousands of residents in Obingwa and neighbouring communities, including people from Aba and Osisioma.
The governor said the facility had been equipped with modern features, including a healing garden, digital data management system, real-time inter-facility collaboration, technology-assisted laboratory and scan analysis, a well-equipped theatre, eye-care units, observation rooms and a renewable energy system to support uninterrupted power supply.
“We have reached a new milestone in the effort to modernise our health institutions to reflect the spirit of this age,” Otti said.
He stressed that the hospital would operate round the clock, including weekends, and provide care to patients regardless of their social or economic status.
Otti said the decision to rename the facility after Ubani was to honour the late activist’s courage, compassion and commitment to justice, democracy and the welfare of ordinary Nigerians.
He recalled Ubani’s contributions 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” who died pursuing the ideals he believed in.
Otti said the honour would help preserve Ubani’s legacy and inspire younger generations to embrace courage, service and integrity.
He also assured that his administration would continue to support the late activist’s family while working with medical professionals and other stakeholders to improve healthcare delivery across Abia.
The governor said community leaders had also been involved in protecting the hospital and warned against vandalism of the facility.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, said the 80-bed hospital was part of the government’s plan to build a modern and future-ready healthcare system in the state.
Uche disclosed that the Otti administration had undertaken 301 health infrastructure projects within three years, including the construction and equipping of 277 primary healthcare centres.
He said Obingwa had benefited from 18 primary healthcare centres, including 13 under Project Ekwueme and five under the Impact Project.
According to him, the hospital was designed as a digital facility that would enable health workers at primary healthcare centres to link women in labour with the hospital for further medical support.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Abia State Hospitals Management Board, Dr Odochi Azubuike, said the hospital was originally built under the Local Government SURE-P programme in partnership with the state government and commissioned in 2015.
She said the Otti administration inherited the facility in a dilapidated condition, without admissions, drugs or essential equipment.
Azubuike said the government had since transformed it into a functional hospital and urged residents to take ownership of the facility and protect it.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Save A Life Group, Dr Richard Okoye, commended Otti’s investment in healthcare, saying his organisation was partnering with the state because of what he described as the governor’s visionary leadership.
Retired Professor of Paediatrics, Prof. Kanu Nkaginieme, also praised the administration’s efforts to upgrade healthcare infrastructure and urged community leaders to take responsibility for protecting health facilities.
The commissioning was attended by Deputy Governor Ikechukwu Emetu, Secretary to the State Government Emmanuel Meribeole, Chief of Staff Caleb Ajagba and other senior government officials.
