By PAMELA EBOH, Awka

The Anambra State Ministry of Health on Tuesday discovered four unused ventilators stacked in its central store in Awka, the state capital.

The ventilators along with other medical equipment were said to have been purchased by the former Governor and Vice Presidential Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Peter Obi, during his administration after the completion of the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) Teaching Hospital Amaku Awka.

Speaking on the shocking discovery, former Commissioner of Health during Obi’s administration, Professor Amobi Ilika, said the ventilators were part of medical equipment procured by the government of that time shortly before it left office.

He said that because the administration was winding up, none of the equipment could be installed.

Ilika said: “There could be more. I can’t remember how many we bought. They were part of medical equipments I bought in the United States of America. Others include kidney dialysis machines some of which may be obsolete if not used.”

He revealed that the government of Mr. Peter Obi bought six container loads of medical equipment and the contents were packed in a big store near Fire Service building along Enugu-Onitsha expressway.

He added: “They should check for more equipment in that big store because there are a lot of them that were procured and secured there before we left office.”

The former health commissioner regretted that a lot of things started by Obi as well as the installation of medical equipment were abandoned.

Efforts to get the reaction of the present commissioner of health at the time of filing this report failed as his mobile line was not reachable.

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