Top officials of Edo state government-owned Central Hospital in Benin City, on Tuesday allegedly abandoned their respective duty posts, just to avoid receiving customised hand sanitizers donated by a governorship aspirant in the state, Dr. Pius Odubu.

The incident caused a mild drama in the premises of the Hospital, as the campaign team of the former Deputy Governor got stranded.

Odubu who is one of the frontline aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who have vowed to stop Governor Godwin Obaseki from securing the party’s ticket for a second term.

He said the donation of the hand sanitizers was part of efforts to assist health care personnel in the containment of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the state.

Confirming the incident, the Director-General of Odubu Campaign Organisation, Barr. Henry Idahagbon, said, “the Hospital management had agreed on 11 am last Wednesday, to receive the donation.”

He expressed concern that no official of the Hospital was on ground to receive the donations on behalf of the health workers when the organisation visited on the agreed date.

According to him, “When we got to the hospital, we called the Medical Director, Dr. Edomwonyi, to intimate him of our presence in the facility.

“His response was that ‘My brother I am not around and you know this is politics’.

“At that point, we left and proceeded to the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where we made the donations.”

The MD, Dr. Edomwonyi Ekuase, could not be reached for comment as calls to his mobile lines did not go through.

However, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Patrick Okundia, said he was not aware of the development.

“It is not to my knowledge. You need to also find out whether some people have picked them and kept them somewhere,” Okundia said.