By joshua 
CRPP Condemn Okpehbolo’s N2.5b Donation To UBTH
By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
Criticisms have continued to trail the recent decision by Edo State Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo to provide N2.5 billion to build a Children Emergency Ward at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH).
The latest is from Dr. Samson Isibor, the Edo State chairman , Coalition of Registered Political Parties (CRPP), who chided Governor Okpebholo for the initiative, noting that it is unheard of for a state governor to budget such a huge sum of money to a federal government owned hospital, whereas many of the state’s hospitals and primary health centres are not up to standards.
In a statement after CRPP’s annual meeting in Benin City, Dr. Isibor lamented that whereas the federal government has enough to give out, Edo State should not act like Father Christmas while it is yearning for infrastructural developments.
The chairman emphasized that the state needs money to fight insecurity which is on the high side, noting that kidnappers have taken over its roads, while bandits and Fulani herdsmen are having a field day in the bushes.
Dr. Isibor said: “Farmers cannot access their farms. If part of this money is pumped into the security sector, it will go along way to checkmate these marauders. This is one of the reasons why Edo State is experiencing high cost of basic foodstuffs for the populace. A state that is sourcing for money to execute projects now turns to Father Christmas. It is an error.”
He noted that the new CM, Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu knows where to cry if the institution is short of funds to execute its projects or expand the hospital, adding that the Federal Ministry of Health is there to fund its hospitals.
He said: “The governor advisers should live up to expectation by giving quality advice to their boss but it is another thing for the governor to take the seamless advice.
“We are appealing to the governor to spend our patrimony judiciously for the betterment of Edo people.”
He admitted that the group shares Governor Okpebholo’s declaration that delivering 2.5 million Edo votes to President Bola Tinubu in 2027 is a task that must be done, stressing however that if well utilized, the said N2.5 billion will create thousands of employment to Edo youths, unemployed graduates roaming its towns and villages and constituting security threats to the people.
Dr. Isibor remarked that one of the areas to generate employment is through the establishment of farm settlements just like that of Ekiti State, which has succeeded in bringing down the high cost of foodstuffs just as the youths there are smiling to the banks.
The statement called on Edo State lawmakers to monitor the governor’s spending with a view to find out whether the N2.5 billion is in the 2025 budget, insisting that if not, he should be queried.