Barely over one week after the end of Prof Darlington Obaseki’s tenure as the Chief Medical Director of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, the House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions has disclosed plans to probe the financial expenditures of the institution.
Recalls that Prof Darlington Obaseki, the immediate past Chief Medical Director of University of Benin Teaching Hospital handed over the administration of the hospital to his successor, Prof Idia Ize-Iyamu.
Idia Ize-Iyamu was on August 8, 2025 appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the new Chief Medical Director of the teaching hospital and she formally took over the management of the health institution on August 18, 2025, following the end of the tenure of her predecessor on August 17, 2025
DAILY POST reports that the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Health Institutions, Patrick Umo gave the hints on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen during an oversight function of the committee to the hospital.
Umo said the probe would be after the comprehensive audit of the budgetary expenditures of the hospital between 2023 and 2024 fiscal years.
The Committee chairman was accompanied on the oversight visit by Billy Osawaru, a member representing Uhunmwode Federal Constituency of Edo State.
He said they have looked at the books and documents that have been submitted to the committee even though some of the documentation is not as accurate as “we would have expected them to be”.
While querying the debt on drug revolving funds and others, he added that they would sit over the documents, evaluate them and do all that they can when necessary.
He expressed worry over the state of the affairs of the hospital particularly as it relates to the 2023/2024 budgetary expenditures.
He said the visit was necessitated by several issues discovered in the hand over documents by the immediate past Chief Medical Director
According to him: this committee is set to open an investigation into the activities of the hospital following several issues in her book. This necessitated our visit.
Umo disclosed that the Clerk of the House, Dr Yahaya Danzaria has been directed to invite the immediate past CMD who had served within the period 2023 and 2024 for clarifications.
He opined that the visit is not a witch-hunt but to perform its constitutional functions.
“So we are here to look at the books. We looked at the 2024 budget expenditure, the budget index, and we also looked at their projection for 2025.
“The documents have been submitted, concerns have been raised and a motion was moved by my colleagues for investigation and the chairman has moved that the hospital must be investigated.
“The committee highlighted the areas the comprehensive audit would be conducted on to include a drug revolving fund, energy and personnel of the hospital.
“We have looked at the records, their IGR, we looked at the Drug Revolving Fund and the normal roll of the institution.
“We have our suspicions about the documentations hence we are going to look at the books and conduct a proper evaluation and assessment of what was presented.
“So our report will be out when we sit down at an enlarged committee. We will get back to the hospital and tell them areas where they need to improve and show them the areas of weaknesses and strengths”, he said.
Umo said ,for now he cannot speculate or indict any one, noting that the constitution presumes everyone innocent until proven otherwise.
” I can’t sit here and begin to indict people when we have not conducted an audit, it would be premature.”
He, however, lauded the hospital for being one of the biggest tertiary health institutions in the country, emphasizing the need for management to step up development in terms of infrastructure, emergency response and the payment system.
He urged staff to work harder to meet the demands of their patients as well as those who are in need of medical care.
