Health
Abandoned health centre in Abia as civic watchdog alleges N35 Million embezzlement amid community despair
Written By: Emmanuel Ikhenebome
07 Dec 2025 06:13 AM
Umuahia, Abia – In a stark revelation of public fund mismanagement, civic technology platform MonITNG has accused federal authorities of betraying rural Nigerians by allowing nearly N35 million in taxpayer money to vanish without a trace, leaving a long-awaited Primary Health Centre in Oloko Community, Ikwuano Local Government Area (LGA), in ruins.
The centre, constructed six years ago to serve thousands of residents in this agrarian community, now resembles a forgotten relic.
Overgrown with tall weeds and thick bush, its doors remain locked, windows shattered, and roof leaking profusely. No medical equipment, not a single bed, chair, or vaccine refrigerator has ever been installed, forcing locals to cram into a single, overcrowded room masquerading as a clinic.
Pregnant women endure deliveries on bare floors or risk perilous 20-kilometer journeys to the nearest functional facility, endangering mothers and newborns alike.
On September 5, 2024, the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia (FMCU) disbursed N34,975,869.78 directly to contractor Raymond Blacks Ltd for "furnishing and equipping" the Oloko facility.
Despite this infusion of funds, field verification by MonITNG in October 2025 over 13 months later revealed zero progress.
"The building remains exactly as it was before the N35 million was paid, except the weeds are now taller," the group stated in a viral X post on Sunday, tagging anti-corruption agencies and Health Minister Muhammad Pate.
"This is no longer administrative delay; it is organised theft of healthcare from a vulnerable rural community," MonITNG declared
The post, echoes a similar exposé by sister organization Tracka last recently, which first spotlighted the site's decay and urged Abia Governor Alex Otti to intervene.
The Oloko Health Centre, established around 2019 as a public facility in Oboro 1, was meant to anchor basic healthcare in this underserved corner of Abia State.
MonITNG demands immediate probes by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ICPC into FMC Umuahia and Raymond Blacks Ltd, full recovery of the funds, and swift prosecution.
The group also presses FMC Umuahia to summon the contractor within seven days and operationalize the centre by year's end.
"Oloko has waited six years. They cannot wait another day," the post concludes under the rallying cry #FixOurPHCs.
In a nation where healthcare funding often evaporates into opacity amid broader efforts like Abia State's recent equipping of other primary centres this scandal underscores the chasm between budget lines and bedside reality.
The centre, constructed six years ago to serve thousands of residents in this agrarian community, now resembles a forgotten relic.
Overgrown with tall weeds and thick bush, its doors remain locked, windows shattered, and roof leaking profusely. No medical equipment, not a single bed, chair, or vaccine refrigerator has ever been installed, forcing locals to cram into a single, overcrowded room masquerading as a clinic.
Pregnant women endure deliveries on bare floors or risk perilous 20-kilometer journeys to the nearest functional facility, endangering mothers and newborns alike.
On September 5, 2024, the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia (FMCU) disbursed N34,975,869.78 directly to contractor Raymond Blacks Ltd for "furnishing and equipping" the Oloko facility.
Despite this infusion of funds, field verification by MonITNG in October 2025 over 13 months later revealed zero progress.
"The building remains exactly as it was before the N35 million was paid, except the weeds are now taller," the group stated in a viral X post on Sunday, tagging anti-corruption agencies and Health Minister Muhammad Pate.
"This is no longer administrative delay; it is organised theft of healthcare from a vulnerable rural community," MonITNG declared
The post, echoes a similar exposé by sister organization Tracka last recently, which first spotlighted the site's decay and urged Abia Governor Alex Otti to intervene.
The Oloko Health Centre, established around 2019 as a public facility in Oboro 1, was meant to anchor basic healthcare in this underserved corner of Abia State.
MonITNG demands immediate probes by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and ICPC into FMC Umuahia and Raymond Blacks Ltd, full recovery of the funds, and swift prosecution.
The group also presses FMC Umuahia to summon the contractor within seven days and operationalize the centre by year's end.
"Oloko has waited six years. They cannot wait another day," the post concludes under the rallying cry #FixOurPHCs.
In a nation where healthcare funding often evaporates into opacity amid broader efforts like Abia State's recent equipping of other primary centres this scandal underscores the chasm between budget lines and bedside reality.
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