The Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District in the National Assembly (NASS) and former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has accused the leadership of the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, Edo State, of still nursing hard feelings over the defeat of Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
Recall that the Director of Social Communications, Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, Rev. Fr. Jude Orah, had described as falsehood the claims by Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District, Adams Oshiomhole, over the ownership and funding of the College of Nursing Sciences, located within the premises of St. Philomena Catholic Hospital, Benin City.
In a statement in Abuja by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Victor Oshioke, Senator Oshiomhole of the All Progressives Congress (APC) said that the response of the Church to his recent interview on Arise TV, as regards the status of St. Philomena College of Nursing, Benin, by its Director of Social Communication and Printing Press, smacked of bellyache and was coloured by the ethnic background of the leadership, which continues to support its relative, Mr. Obi.
He said that the tone and content of a statement titled “Setting the Record Straight: St. Philomena College of Nursing is not Government Owned”, by Rev. Orah, which aimed to clarify ownership of its institutions, “is a sad commentary on the deepening culture of bias, judgment, and partisanship, even within the spiritual space that ought to be above such tendencies and from men who otherwise are revered as holy, divinely inspired and discerning.” Senator Oshiomhole emphasised that at no point during the July 26, 2026, television interview did he make direct reference to the name St. Philomena Hospital College of Nursing.
The ex-national chairman of the APC said that in response to a question about the former Anambra State governor’s recent visit to a School of Nursing in Benin City, he took it for granted, based on his knowledge as a former governor, that the facility visited was the state-owned School of Nursing and Midwifery on Sapele Road, which is owned, managed, and fully funded by the Edo State Government. He added: “That was a simple assumption, made without malice or intention to mislead. However, rather than seek clarification or engage in good faith, the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City chose to interpret this honest mistake as deliberate misinformation.”