During Peter Obi’s visit to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Rev. Fr. Obiora Ugochukwu, the hospital’s CEO, disclosed that Obi had unintentionally overpaid the school of nursing by ₦2.5 million. Obi promised to donate ₦20 million in installments to 16 medical facilities, but the hospital ended up with an additional ₦2.5 million. Fr. Ugochukwu first believed it to be a singular error until several institutions confirmed the same. He told Obi about the mistake, and Obi was impressed with the honesty displayed.

Obi provided another ₦10 million during the visit and corroborated the story. He clarified that the additional funds would be distributed to the establishments that showed integrity by disclosing the overpayment. Obi also urged managers in the public and commercial sectors to maintain this level of openness.

He stated as follows: “Today, I visited Our Lady of Lourdes College of Nursing Sciences, Ihiala, in furtherance of my unwavering commitment to critical and measurable areas of development—health, education, and lifting people out of poverty.” I assessed their progress on my visit and was happy to see the results of our continued assistance. I donated ₦20 million to support them earlier this year, and today I donated an extra ₦10 million in appreciation of their excellent job.

Obi reassured the students that there would always be a demand for nurses and other healthcare professionals, encouraging them to be persistent in their goals. He asked the students to develop the same mentality of helping others, including their professors, and highlighted those Nigerian nurses who are working abroad to support their families.

Obi also used the occasion to call on the government to give education more priority, stressing that funding for education should be viewed as an investment rather than a waste.

On behalf of the students, Miss Peace Ituma, Secretary General of the Student Union, expressed thanks, pointing out that Obi’s contributions—which date back to his tenure as Governor—had greatly improved the school’s infrastructure. A tour of the complex was given to Obi so he could see the ongoing projects, which included a new administrative building that was partially paid for by his donations.

The picture’s caption

Mr. Peter Obi (in black) giving our Lady of Lourdes School of Nursing, Ihiala a 10 million dollar check for ongoing infrastructure development.