OAUTHC Management Reveals Recruitment Scandal Amidst Workers' Protest
Abdulbasit Abdulkareem
The management of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTHC) has disclosed a recruitment scandal involving the immediate past top echelons of the institution, leading to a crisis within the hospital complex. The revelation comes amidst protests by approximately 1500 sacked workers who have picketed the hospital premises, demanding the withdrawal of their dismissal letters and payment of arrears.
According to a statement issued by the hospital's management, through the Public Relations Officer, Kemi Fasoto, which was made available on its website, senior officers, including the erstwhile Acting Chief Medical Director, Acting Director of Administration, and Head of Establishment, were suspended for illegal recruitment practices. The statement alleges that some of these officers even engaged in inappropriate conduct, including sleeping with female workers in exchange for employment.
The protest has disrupted hospital activities, with workers threatening to continue indefinitely until their demands are met. The management has responded by promising to reimburse pre-employment medical screening expenses but reiterated that the sacked workers would not be re-engaged.
The suspended officers were found culpable of manipulating the recruitment process through the deliberate subversion of rules and regulations, as per the statement. The Federal Ministry of Health & Social Welfare (FMoH&SW) suspended the trio over their involvement in illegal recruitment and job racketeering related to the 2022 approved waiver from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).
The Permanent Secretary of FMoH&SW directed the hospital management to convene a Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee to address the cases of illegal recruitment and job racketeering. The committee, with representation from FMoH&SW and OHCSF, visited the hospital complex between January 8th and January 12th, 2024.
Despite high-profile cases being appropriately addressed, the hospital management is still awaiting further directives from the FMoH&SW. A letter received on January 2nd, 2024, outlined specific recommendations from a Fact-Finding Team, directing the hospital to enforce compliance with the waiver, clean the nominal roll, and subject employees to suitability competency tests.
The current hospital management expressed its commitment to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and emphasized professionalism, inclusiveness, transparency, and accountability. It clarified that the management cannot pay, employ, or sack individuals without proper authorization.
In response, the sacked workers, through their spokesperson, Samson Falope, denied involvement in job racketeering or threats, asserting that their strike would continue until their demands are fully met, rejecting the hospital's offer to pay pre-employment medical screening expenses.
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