Delta hospital workers, retirees seek help over N70m cooperative fund

The members of the Delta State Hospital Management Board Multipurpose Cooperative Society II have appealed to Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and the office of the state Attorney General to intervene in the recovery of their withheld cooperative savings, said to be worth over N70m, amid allegations of financial mismanagement and prolonged delays.

They said the situation had left serving workers and retirees without access to their savings, which they had hoped to rely on after retirement.

Speaking in separate interviews with PUNCH Metro on Saturday, the cooperative’s president, Emelereta Emmanuel, said the delay had stalled the society’s annual general meetings and exposed executive members to threats and harassment from angry members unable to access their savings.

He appealed to the governor and the state Attorney General to facilitate the release of the funds and help members recover their money and landed properties.

“Our prayers are that the governor and the Attorney General should use their good offices to help release our withheld money, which is over N70m, and help us recover our money and landed properties,” Emmanuel said.

A couple, Herrieta and Julius Otobene, who both left service in 2025, said the situation had dashed their hopes of enjoying a peaceful retirement after years of service.

“We have more than N2m in the account. We were supposed to retire in peace after paying our dues as civil servants, but now we are embroiled in this scandal. All we want is our money,” Julius Otobene said on behalf of the couple.

A lawyer, Benjamin Amede, alleged that the immediate past executive committee had failed to account for contributions collected during its tenure, prompting members to petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the matter.

He said the dispute had resulted in several court cases before the state Ministry of Justice convened a meeting on June 1 to explore an alternative dispute resolution process.

According to him, the meeting resolved that the parties should withdraw their court cases, submit account statements and hold an annual general meeting by September, after which the members’ money would be released.

“Our case was withdrawn on June 18, but up till now, they are still holding on to our money. We could not conduct the AGM because there is no money. On October 9, we wrote a letter to the Attorney General, explaining that we could not organise the meeting without funds,” he said.

Amede added that members had become agitated over their inability to access their savings and were threatening to confront the executive committee.

Another member, Omogha Faith, said disagreements over the cooperative’s leadership and the release of relevant documents had further complicated efforts to resolve the dispute.

She said members had approached the court over the issues before the Ministry of Justice invited them to a mediation meeting.

According to her, the parties were asked to submit their account statements, withdraw their court cases and organise an AGM, with the understanding that the cooperative’s documents and funds would be released to facilitate the process.

“Since April, we have done everything they asked us to do,” she said.

Faith, however, said members could not unilaterally withdraw the EFCC petition, as demanded by the Ministry of Trade and Investment, because individual members had initiated it and the matter remained under investigation.

• Police arrest school driver for kidnapping, raping Delta student
• Okonjo-Iweala loses mum, pays tribute
• Tinubu mourns Okonjo-Iweala’s mother

She appealed to Oborevwori to direct the relevant authorities to release the funds, warning that the prolonged dispute had exposed some members to threats.

“As I am talking to you, I am no longer safe because of this money. I believe the governor, who has been a good governor to the people, will use his good offices to order the release of the money because he will not be happy that civil servants are suffering like this,” she said.

Faith urged the state government to ensure that members recovered their savings and benefited from the cooperative, adding that the amount involved exceeded N70m.

Israel Watite, an accountant at a hospital in Sapele and the cooperative’s secretary, described the situation as disheartening, saying members had contributed to the scheme for years in the expectation that their savings and dividends would be available when they retired.

“The major reason people join this cooperative and contribute is to ensure that they have something to fall back on when they retire. They expect that the money they have saved over the years will be refunded to them, along with dividends,” Watite said.

He said many retirees had been left distressed after discovering that their accumulated savings were unavailable.

“Some may have saved N1m or N2m, only to discover that not even a dime is available,” he said.

Watite alleged that successive cooperative leaders had failed to account for the funds, adding that some had left the country while others had disappeared.

He estimated that the cooperative’s savings could amount to at least N800m and possibly more than N1bn accumulated over more than two decades, but said members had yet to recover their contributions.

He added that members had faced threats and other challenges in their efforts to change the leadership, saying their priority after taking over was to recover the cooperative’s funds.

Watite expressed concern that members’ complaints had received little attention, alleging that some government officials were supporting those responsible for the situation.

He said the uncertainty had left members frustrated, particularly those who had spent their working lives saving for retirement.

“It is painful and deeply regrettable to have invested your money in an arrangement with so much hope, only for all that hope to be dashed. When everything you have hoped for comes to nothing, it is difficult to find the right words to describe the experience. It is a very painful situation,” he said.

Watite added that members continued to contact him daily over their inability to access their savings, but the dispute remained unresolved.

When contacted on Sunday, the Director of Cooperatives under the Ministry of Trade and Investment, Joseph Okotie, said he could not comment because he was in church.

“Let’s talk in the evening,” he said.

However, several calls and text messages sent to him on Sunday evening went unanswered. A WhatsApp message sent to him had also not received a response as of the time this report was filed.