Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti.

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has commissioned the newly remodelled and digitally equipped 80-bed Obingwa General Hospital in Mgboko, headquarters of Obingwa Local Government Area, and renamed the facility after the late human rights activist, Chima Ubani.

The commissioning took place on Tuesday, with Otti saying the investment was part of his administration’s efforts to modernise public healthcare and restore confidence in government-owned medical facilities.

Speaking at the event, Otti said healthcare remained central to his administration’s development agenda, particularly in improving access to quality medical services and reducing avoidable deaths among mothers and newborns.

He said 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, Osisioma and other adjoining areas.

Otti expressed satisfaction with the hospital’s modern features, which include a healing garden, technology-driven data management system, real-time inter-facility collaboration, 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 the decision to rename the hospital after Chima Ubani, Otti said 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 said 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 and collaborate with medical professionals and other stakeholders to strengthen healthcare delivery in Abia.

The governor also said community leaders had been incorporated into efforts to protect the facility and cautioned against vandalism.

In their separate speeches, 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, thanked the governor for the hospital and other projects in Obingwa.

They assured that the people of Obingwa would vote overwhelmingly for Otti and his party members.

In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, described the 80-bed facility as evidence of Otti’s efforts to build a future-ready healthcare system in Abia State.

Uche disclosed that within three years in office, Otti’s administration had embarked on 301 infrastructural projects in the health sector, including the construction and equipping of 277 Primary Health Centres to the standard set by the governor.

He said the Obingwa facility was a digital hospital that would allow women in labour at various primary health centres to be linked to the hospital for further 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, the Chief Executive Officer of the Abia State Hospitals Management Board, Dr Odochi Azubuike, recalled that the hospital was built under the Local Government SURE-P programme in partnership with Abia State and commissioned in 2015.

She said the Otti administration met the facility in a dilapidated condition, with no admissions, drugs or equipment.

According to her, the hospital had since been transformed from a facility that lacked basic resources into a functional hospital.

Azubuike appreciated Otti for his commitment to the welfare of Hospitals Management Board staff and urged the people of Obingwa to take ownership of the facility and protect it.

In his remarks, the Chairman of Save A Life Group, Dr Richard Okoye, said the organisation was partnering with the state because of what he described as Otti’s visionary leadership.

Okoye said Abia would soon record the highest life expectancy in West Africa, attributing the projection to the governor’s investment in healthcare.

He also commended Otti for his position that every Abian deserved dignified and quality healthcare.

Similarly, retired renowned Professor of Paediatrics, Prof. Kanu Nkaginieme, commended Otti’s efforts in transforming the state’s healthcare infrastructure.

He stressed the need for President-Generals and community leaders to oversee health facilities and urged Abians to take ownership of the projects being executed by the administration across the state.

The commissioning was attended by the Deputy Governor, Engr. Ikechukwu Emetu, FNSE; Secretary to the State Government, Dr Emmanuel Meribeole; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, PhD; and other senior government officials.