After SecretsReporters’ Bombshell, Delta Health Commissioner, Joseph Onojaeme Storms Olomoro Hospital, Slams Decay, Orders Shake-Up Even As Resident Doctor Was Nowhere To Be Found

Secrets Reporters

Following the explosive investigative report by SecretsReporters that peeled back the crumbling walls of the General Hospital, Olomoro, the Delta State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Onojaeme, has taken the bull by the horns, paying a surprise visit to the facility in what appeared to be a direct response to the damning revelations that cast the hospital as a place where patients go to wait, not to heal.

The unscheduled visit, carried out without prior notice, was less of a routine inspection and more of a fact-finding mission triggered by public outrage. And what the Commissioner met on ground only confirmed that the earlier SecretsReporters investigation did not cry wolf.

Arriving at the hospital around 10:30am, Dr. Onojaeme was reportedly taken aback to discover that key officials, including the Resident Doctor and the hospital administrator, were nowhere to be found. Patients sat unattended, the facility eerily quiet for a public hospital meant to serve several Isoko communities. Visibly displeased, the Commissioner described the situation as “unacceptable and irresponsible,” stressing that public health facilities are not personal estates but institutions meant to serve the people at all times

The Commissioner’s anger deepened as he moved round the premises, inspecting infrastructure and equipment that had clearly fallen into neglect. Of particular concern was the shocking state of hospital chairs, many broken or unfit for use by sick and vulnerable patients. Dr. Onojaeme found it indefensible, especially against the backdrop of government support already extended to the hospital.

He reminded staff that the Delta State Government had approved the 100 percent retention of the hospital’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), estimated at over ₦1.5 million monthly, specifically to ensure proper maintenance and smooth operations. Addressing the few staff present, he queried pointedly: “It is totally unacceptable that this facility is in such a state even with the sophisticated medical equipment at the hospital.” He followed with a stinging question that hung heavily in the air: “The state government has done its part by approving the retention of 100% IGR to support hospital maintenance and service delivery. What then is the excuse for this mismanagement?”

Those words echoed the very concerns raised by SecretsReporters, which had earlier exposed a hospital operating on life support, one doctor attending to a handful of patients daily, no stable electricity for over a year, no oxygen, skeletal laboratory services, staff absenteeism, and a culture that drove patients away rather than offering care

Dr. Onojaeme made it clear that the era of looking the other way was over. He warned that the Delta State Government would no longer tolerate incompetence, indiscipline, or managerial recklessness within the health sector. In a decisive move, he announced that immediate steps would be taken to overhaul the hospital’s management structure, including the transfer of the current administrative leadership, signaling that heads would roll where negligence had taken root

Not stopping at Olomoro, the Commissioner issued a broader warning to other public health facilities across the state, urging them to put their houses in order. According to him, similar unscheduled inspections would continue as part of the Ministry of Health’s renewed drive to enforce discipline, transparency, and efficiency in healthcare delivery.

The visit, officials say, aligns with the broader healthcare reform agenda of the Delta State Government under Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, with an emphasis on accountability and improved service delivery across public hospitals. But beyond policy statements, the Olomoro visit stands as a clear message: when investigative journalism shines a light, government can no longer afford to sleep in the dark.

For the long-suffering residents of Olomoro and surrounding Isoko communities, the Commissioner’s visit may not yet be the cure, but it is, at the very least, the first dose of accountability after years of neglect.