The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, on Tuesday visited Benin City, where he donated N15 million to St Philomena College of Nursing Sciences.
Obi’s visit comes amid previous remarks by Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, who had earlier advised the former Anambra State governor to notify the state government before visiting, citing security concerns.
During the visit, Obi presented the donation to support the college’s development and investment in healthcare education. He stated that his priority remained humanitarian support rather than political inducement.
“I came last year, and I said I will come at least once in a year. It is very important. Our support to this college is to the students. We are investing in you for our better living. We are not dashing you anything. The investment in you will contribute to securing the future,” he said.
Obi expressed concern over the state of primary healthcare in Nigeria, noting that many rural communities lack functional primary health centres.
“Here is a country where, if you go to all the villages, there are no primary health care facilities. In other countries, they have over 90 per cent medical insurance coverage. Every village has a primary health care centre manned by two or three nurses. We don’t have enough nursing schools. Nurses are needed all over the world,” he added.
The former governor maintained that his interventions in health and education were not politically motivated.
“I am not doing it for politics. Most places where I go, they don’t vote. We need to invest in the future of these children. I don’t want to give money to people to vote for me. God created us to do this to ensure a better society,” Obi emphasised.
In his remarks, the Administrator of the College of Nursing Sciences, Rev. Jerome Idibe, thanked Obi for the visit and described the donation as generous and timely.
