The Osun State Government has strongly refuted a report aired on TVC News claiming that health centres in the state are non-operational, describing the story as “outright false” and politically motivated. The report, which was broadcast on the evening of Saturday March 22, 2025, has drawn sharp criticism from state officials, who accused the reporter, Mr. Rafiu Hammed, of abandoning journalistic ethics to push a political agenda.
In a press statement issued on Sunday, Dr. Akindele Adekunle, Special Adviser to the Osun State Governor on Public Health, condemned the report as a “figment of the imagination” of the reporter. He emphasized that no health centres in the state have been shut down, contrary to the claims made in the TVC broadcast.
“It is quite disheartening that a journalist would sacrifice the ethics of his work, which emphasises truthful reportage, to pursue a political agenda by exploiting the TVC platform to deliberately push out a false narrative to the public,” Dr. Adekunle stated.
“At no time was any centre in Osun state shut down as falsely portrayed by Mr. Hammed in his report.”
The statement further criticized Mr. Hammed for failing to provide any evidence to support his claims. “This may be why Mr. Hammed could not provide a single video of a single health centre not operational during working hours in his false reportage,” Dr. Adekunle added.
The Osun State Government also pointed to recent media coverage of Governor Ademola Adeleke’s tour of health centres in the state as evidence contradicting the TVC report. “Governor Adeleke’s visit to some health centres was widely covered by the media in the state, further puncturing the lies peddled by Mr. Hammed in his report,” the statement read.
Dr. Adekunle expressed concern over the potential consequences of such misinformation, particularly for vulnerable groups like pregnant women who rely on free healthcare services provided by the state.
“Mr. Hammed’s attempt to politicise health may endanger the lives of the people, especially pregnant women who access the healthcare system free-of-charge in those centres,” he said.
“This is very unprofessional and capable of causing unnecessary apprehension for the public, which negates the essence of journalism.”
The statement also highlighted the state government’s ongoing efforts to improve healthcare infrastructure. “Osun health centres are open and continue to serve the health needs of the public at the grassroots,” Dr. Adekunle affirmed. “The Osun State Government is currently implementing the rehabilitation of the remaining Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the state, adding to the 200 PHCs fully rehabilitated and equipped last year.”
The Special Adviser urged the public to disregard the TVC report, describing it as a politically motivated fabrication. “We ask the public to discountenance the report of Mr. Hammed on TVC as it is false and doesn’t represent the true situation of things on the ground in Osun state,” he said.
“The lie is the invention of enemies of the state, but the public can rest assured that they will not succeed.”
The Osun State Government has called on the management of TVC to address the issue and ensure that its platform is not used to disseminate false information. “It is our considered view that the Management of TVC should rein him in so as not to project the media outlet wrongly to the public,” Dr. Adekunle stated. “The essence of journalism is to truthfully inform people, not to misinform them.”
As of the time of this report, TVC News has not issued a response to the allegations made by the Osun State Government.
