By Ademola Akanni, Abuja
A looming labour war is brewing at the National Hospital, Abuja, reports The Gazelle News.com.
All the labour unions in the hospital and other stakeholders in the health sector are battle ready to slug it out with the Federal Government over the refusal of the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Jafaru Alanua Momoh, to vacate his office even after the expiration of his tenure having attained the mandatory retirement age since February, 2020.
The Gazelle News.com’s investigation revealed that the usual practice was that whenever a CMD retires, an acting CMD is appointed until the govenrment appoints a substantive one. However, the present CMD has refused to leave.
This medium learnt further that Dr Momoh has been telling whoever cares to know that he won’t leave the office since he’s not affected by the rule which says the CMD should leave after attaining the retirement age.
According to him, the position of CMD is a political appointment hence not anchored on age.
However, having attained the mandatory retirement age in February, Momoh was expected to have proceeded on a three month retirement leave in December last year.
In fact, two of classmates who of same age with him: Dr Imuzulike and Dr Opadele retired in February.
The Gazelle News.com also learnt that Dr Momoh has been running the affairs of the hospital like a personal business. This medium was told by some staff that the outgoing CMD has run a corruption administration during his tenure in office.
Union members at the hospital are also aggrieved by what some of them described as the “unmitigated corruption” that has reportedly been the hallmark of Dr. Momoh’s tenure in addition to concerns that the institution was run like a personal business.
A source at the hospital who pleaded for anonymity for fear of being victimized revealed that, “The current unhealthy situation in the leadership of the National Hospital Abuja is a major concern to the staff of the hospital in particular and should be to all Nigerians in general.
“The current Chief Medical Director, Dr (Jafaru Alanua) Momoh has refused to vacate the seat of the CMD in spite being due for retirement on grounds of age. He attained the age to retire as far back as February this year so he should have even been on end of service leave as at December last year. But he has remained adamant and persisted in remaining in that position. There is no way this is good for National Hospital”.
Another staff, who hails from the same state as the CMD, revealed that Dr. Momoh has sustained a large-scale lobby involving some prominent traditional rulers and top political appointees from his home state, Edo State.
He also reportedly focused on profit making as opposed to providing care, for which the place was primarily set up. Dr. Momoh is said to remit money into government coffers even when the hospital is in serious need of consumables to function properly, a situation that has left patients or their relatives with the burden of sourcing for items that should have ordinarily provided by the hospital, prompting claims that the National Hospital boss gets commissions on the amounts so remitted.
Doctor Momoh’s insistence on remaining in office even after exceeding the retirement age is said to have dampened staff morale as many of them concluded undue favouritism was at play since the CMD should have retired with two of his colleagues who were undergraduate classmates in the persons of Dr Imuzuluke and Dr Opadele. They retired last February.
The stance of the CMD runs contrary to the rule-of-law disposition of the current government of President Muhammadu Buhari and is affecting the smooth running of the already non-performing apex hospital.