By Ogochukwu Isioma
As part of his commitment to students’ welfare, Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo has secured the induction for 128 medical graduates of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Fred Itua, and made available to journalists in Benin City, the Edo state capital.
He said the medical graduates have had their induction delayed since August 2024, after spending 10 years in medical school due to some lingering crisis.
“Responding swiftly, the State Government, following a formal protest by the medical students, liaised with the relevant authorities to resolve the crisis and reposition the medical school for seamless induction.”
Following this intervention, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria has fixed the 13th of February, 2025, for these 128 medical graduates to be inducted into the medical profession
Edo State Commissioner for Education, Dr. Emmanuel Paddy Iyamu, speaking in Abuja during a visit to the medical council, thanked the Registrar, Dr. Fatima Kyari for her support. He assured all students of the commitment of Governor Okpebholo to their welfare.
While congratulating the new medical doctors on their scheduled induction, Dr. Iyamu said the plight of students is of utmost concern to the Governor. He reaffirmed the commitment of the present administration to ensure that education at all levels in the State receives the needed attention.
Recall that Medical Students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma had earlier in the month staged a protest and blocked the Benin—Auchi Highway over the stoppage of the 2015 set of medical students from being inducted.
Expressing their grievances before the Governor, spokesperson of the medical graduates, Precious Omohegbele, said she and her course-mates had spent 10 years in medical school and graduated since August 2024 without being inducted.
Governor Okpebholo had immediately waded into the crisis, inviting all relevant parties and seeking practical solutions to resolve the lingering delay.
“This major breakthrough for the medial department of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma at the instance of the State Government, has not only brought relief to the medical graduates, but also reignited the hope and zeal of other students of the department as well the lecturers,” the statement added.
Earlier, Governor Okpebholo had reintroduced the payment of monthly subvention to the institution and reinstated staff who were illegally disengaged by the previous administration of Godwin Obaseki for exercising their legal and labour rights.
“With these pragmatic steps in revamping the education sector in the state and delivering quality, it is glaring to all observers, that Senator Monday Okpebholo’s led administration is bent on changing the narrative and repositioning the state on a path of greatness, even as Edo stand out as the most educationally viable state in the federation,” Itua concluded.
