Reps To Probe Alleged Hiring Bias At UNICAL Teaching Hospital

House of Representatives has moved to investigate allegations of discriminatory recruitment practices at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, allegedly orchestrated by the institution’s chief medical director (CMD), Prof. Ikpeme A. Ikpeme.

The development followed public outrage against the report by a group of newly graduated medical doctors who were rejected by the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) for their one-year mandatory housemanship.

According to the affected medical students, their rejection by the institution was based on ethnic considerations orchestrated by the CMD, who said the majority of the candidates were non-indigenes, to the exclusion of Cross Riverians.

The medical doctors had complained in a viral social media post that they were rejected by the CMD on the grounds that 15 of the 17 posted to the hospital were Igbo rather than indigenous.

The House’s resolution to investigate the matter followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Rt. Hon. Iduma Igariwey Enwo, representing Afikpo North/Afikpo South Federal Constituency of Ebonyi State.

Rt. Hon. Iduma Igariwey Enwo alleged that Prof. Ikpeme rejected a list of 17 newly graduated medical doctors posted to the institution by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) for their mandatory one-year housemanship.

Leading the debate, the Federal Lawmaker expressed concern over reports that the CMD rejected the list specifically because 15 of the 17 doctors were of Igbo extraction.

“It is alarming that by rejecting a bona fide list sent by the regulatory body on the grounds of tribe and region, Prof. Ikpeme is in dangerous violation of the 1999 Constitution, which seeks to protect citizens from discrimination,” the lawmaker stated.

He further noted that despite interventions from the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Cross River branch, the CMD reportedly remained adamant.

The House expressed worry that such conduct worsens the “brain drain” currently hitting Nigeria’s health sector. Citing data, the lawmaker noted that the country’s licensed doctors have plummeted to approximately 40,000—a far cry from the 300,000 required to meet the nation’s healthcare needs.

The House also noted as disturbing reports in the print, electronic and social media that the Chief Medical Director rejected a list of 17 newly graduated medical doctors posted to the institution by the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council (NMDC), the regulatory body of Teaching Hospitals, for one-year mandatory housemanship, on the grounds that 15 of the 17 doctors were Igbo.

It noted that by rejecting a bona fide list of Medical Doctors sent to him by the regulatory body (NMDC), on grounds of tribe or region, Prof Ikpeme violated provisions of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that seek to protect citizens from discrimination on account of tribe and tongue.

The House equally described the behaviour of Ikpeme as polarising and repugnant to the principles of unity, adding that such discriminatory tendencies were compounding the challenges of our healthcare system and instrumental to why many Nigerian doctors are leaving the country to go overseas.

The House further noted that the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital was a component of the University of Calabar, established by the federal government as a centre of excellence in learning and conduct, and emphasised that it was embarrassing for an official in his position to go against the institution’s values.

The House subsequently resolved to mandate the Committee on Health Institutions to investigate the allegations and report within four weeks. It also urged the Federal Ministry of Health to suspend Prof. Ikpeme immediately to prevent interference with the ongoing investigation.

Speaking to journalists after the plenary, Rt. Hon. Iduma Igariwey described the CMD’s actions as a “terrible contradiction,” noting that Prof. Ikpeme himself was trained outside his home state.

“This man studied at the University of Benin and did his further medical training at the Orthopaedic Hospital in Enugu. How can you benefit from the unity of this country and then reject others based on their tribe?” Hon. Igariwey asked.