Reps To Probe UNIBEN Teaching Hospital’s Budgetary Expenditures

The Federal House of Representatives has announced a plan to carry out an audit on the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) as it relates to the, 2023 and 2024 budget expenditures and 2025 projections of the tertiary hospital.

Chairman, House Committee on Public Health Institutions, Patrick Umo, announced this on Tuesday in Benin City, Edo State, while speaking with journalists.

Umo, accompanied by fellow lawmaker Billy Osawaru, representing Orhionwon/Uhunwode federal constituency, was on oversight visit to the tertiary hospital.

The House Committee chairman said the visit was not a witch-hunt but a constitutional function to carry out a comprehensive audit of the 2023 and 2024 budgetary expenditures.

He said they have looked at the books and documents that have been submitted to the committee even though some of the documentations were not as accurate as “we would have expected them to be.”

The committee chairman who queried the debt on drug revolving fund and others, said: “we will sit over the documents, evaluate them and do all that we can when necessary.

“Documents have been submitted, concerns have been raised and motion was moved by my colleagues for investigation.”

He said they have highlighted areas the committee would conduct an audit on such as drug revolving fund, energy and personnel audits of the hospital.

“We have our suspicions on 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 stated.