Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has settled the medical bills of a pregnant woman and her husband who is currently receiving treatment for severe burns following a fire incident in Ekpoma.
The governor made the intervention during a visit to the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, where he also paid the medical expenses of several other patients admitted in different wards of the facility.
Speaking with journalists after the visit, Okpebholo explained that the pregnant woman had earlier approached him to seek financial assistance for her husband, who sustained serious burn injuries and required urgent treatment.
He said the situation took an unexpected turn when members of his medical team noticed that the woman was due for delivery and immediately arranged for her to be taken to the hospital.
According to the governor, doctors at the hospital later carried out a successful cesarean section which resulted in the safe delivery of a baby.
“The woman came to seek help for her husband because they needed money to pay his medical bills. When my doctors noticed that she was due for delivery, they immediately rushed her to the hospital where she later gave birth through a cesarean section,” the governor said.
Okpebholo disclosed that he had directed the hospital management to charge the state government with the responsibility of settling the medical bills of the woman, her husband, and other patients receiving treatment in different wards.
“We have agreed with the hospital management to pay the bills of the man and other patients we met in the wards so they will not have any reason to worry about payment and their treatment can continue. By the grace of God, we believe that the man and others in the ICT unit will recover quickly,” he added.
The governor noted that the gesture was part of his administration’s commitment to supporting Edo residents, particularly those facing medical emergencies and financial difficulties.
Patients and their relatives who benefited from the intervention expressed appreciation to the governor, describing the gesture as timely relief from the burden of rising hospital bills.