The Delta State Government has exonerated the immediate past Chief Medical Director of Asaba Specialist Hospital, Dr. Ayirioritse Peace Ighosewe, over the controversy surrounding the reappearance of her name on payment receipts issued days after she handed over the hospital’s leadership.

The controversy followed the appearance of Ighosewe’s name on Zenith Bank point-of-sale (POS) transaction receipts dated October 23 and 24, 2026, three to four days after she formally handed over on October 20, raising questions about the continued use of her banking details after leaving office.

However, the state government’s position has cleared the former CMD of responsibility for the transactions, suggesting that the appearance of her name on the receipts did not establish her involvement in the payments.
In a statement made available to The Guardian, the former CMD denied allegations of financial misconduct linked to the appearance of her name, insisting that the disputed Zenith Bank POS terminals were reactivated by the present management.

Dr Ighosewe said the hospital had relied on Moniepoint POS terminals for collecting payments until her departure, while the Zenith Bank devices had been out of use for almost a year.

According to her, the bank’s terminals were kept by a member of the hospital’s accounts staff until the bank collected them after her tenure expired, following the incoming management’s decision to return them to service.  

She maintained that she neither activated the terminals nor received any notification concerning their reactivation.

Ighosewe said the hospital’s bank account was opened in the institution’s name, not hers, stressing that the appearance of her personal name on the receipts did not establish that payments were made into her account.

She acknowledged that she had been one of the hospital’s authorised signatories during her tenure but maintained that her authority ended when she handed over.

According to her, the activation of POS services during her administration involved emails sent to authorised account signatories, maintaining that she received no email concerning the activation or reactivation of the disputed Zenith Bank devices.

She called for scrutiny of the bank’s communications and device-registration records to establish who approved the process and whether the necessary notifications were sent.

When contacted, the hospital’s Acting Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Isoje Daniel Omamuzo, directed our correspondent to contact the parent Health Ministry, explaining that he was not authorised to speak on the matter.

In her reaction, the Permanent Secretary, Delta State Ministry of Health, Dr. Gloria Patrick-Ferife, exonerated Dr. Ighosewe, saying the appearance of her name on transaction receipts after officially handing over, was a banking error rather than evidence of fraud.

In a telephone interview with our correspondent, the Permanent Secretary, who said she had examined the transaction records and identified the POS terminal involved, disclosed that the ministry had notified the bank and was working with its officials to resolve the issue.

She explained that the hospital’s Zenith Bank account might have been wrongly linked to Ighosewe’s name instead of being properly identified with the institution.