Human rights defender, Chief Dr Patrick Eholor has lambasted the former Minister for Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire. Eholor while speaking with journalists in Benin over the weekend, said between the two ministers who served Nigeria from Edo state, Clem Agba rates far ahead of the Health minister.
According to him, he is not a biased person and must point out the truth whenever he sees it.
His words: “When you talk about one being a total failure in government of Nigeria, look no more because the Ex-Minister, Osagie Ehanire is the beginning and end of failure.
“When it comes to the two Ex Minister we have in the State, Clem Agba did better than the ex- Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire. At least Clem Agba can show proofs of his work while in office. Clem’s project were clear evidence of his commitment to the people of Edo State. While, Ex- Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire has no results to show forth for his years of being in office of the Minister in Edo State”, he said.
The Ex-Minister of Health was appointed in President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in November 2015 as a Minister of State for Health, before he was made a senior Minister in 2019 to serve for another four yeaes. Prior to this period, he was a private health practitioner in Warri.
Speaking further, Chief Eholor said “somebody that was in office for over 8 years cannot boast of a single project he single-handedly carried out.
He further added that a country like Nigeria with capable medical practitioners were rated low in health indices.
According to a story by the Cable on May 31, 2020 “ADC: Ehanire deceived Nigerians on mission of Chinese Medical Team”
The report read “The Minister erred in three main areas. He lied delibrately or unwittingly, that the Federal Government was expecting a 15-member Chinese Medical Team, and even went ahead to say that they will assist the country in the fight against COVID-19”.
He stated that this singular action did not only ridiculed the image of Nigeria in the world but also cause a catastrophe in areas affected by Covid-19.
“When other government officials were busy sharing palliatives to their States, there was none to his own state(Edo State). This he did to the extent that he didn’t visit any hospitals” Eholor said.
In this kind of sensitive sector, corruption can cause serious harm to individuals and society, especially the most vulnerable populated areas popularly known as the rural areas.
“These funds could have been used to provide access to quality healthcare for Nigerians and meet the requirements of National Health Act especially during emergency situations”.