Discriminatory recruitment claims: Reps seek suspension of UCTH CMD, Ikpeme Ikpeme

Senate

The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to immediately suspend the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital’s Chief Medical Director, Prof Ikpeme Ikpeme, over allegations of ethnic discrimination in the recruitment of resident doctors at the federal tertiary health institution.

The call followed the adoption on Thursday of a motion of urgent public importance moved by the member representing Afikpo South/Afikpo North Federal Constituency, Ebonyi State, Mr Iduma Igariwey.

Moving the motion, Igariwey cited media reports alleging that Prof Ikpeme rejected 17 newly graduated medical doctors posted to UCTH by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for their mandatory one-year housemanship.

According to the lawmaker, 15 out of the 17 affected doctors are Nigerians of Igbo extraction.

He added that despite interventions by the National Association of Resident Doctors, UCTH chapter, and the Nigerian Medical Association, Cross River State branch, the CMD allegedly refused to reverse his decision.

“Prof Ikpeme has stood his ground to reject the list on account of the high number of Igbo applicants therein,” Igariwey said.

He warned that the alleged action amounted to a violation of constitutional provisions prohibiting discrimination. “The House is alarmed that by rejecting a bona fide list of medical doctors sent to him by the regulatory body, on ground of tribe/region, Prof Ikpeme is in dangerous violation of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that seeks to protect citizens from discrimination on account of tribe and tongue,” he said.

Igariwey further expressed concern that the development was worsening the crisis in Nigeria’s already overstretched health sector. Punch