30
Jan
Jan
REPS CALL FOR SUSPENSION OF UCTH CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR OVER ALLEGED ETHNIC BIAS IN DOCTOR RECRUITMENT
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Caroline Ameh / 5 days
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- 2 min read
The Nigerian House of Representatives has resolved to investigate alleged ethnic discrimination in the recruitment of resident doctors at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) in Cross River State. During Thursday’s plenary, lawmakers directed the Federal Ministry of Health to suspend Professor Ikpeme Ikpeme, the UCTH Chief Medical Director (CMD), to prevent interference with the investigation. The decision followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Igariwey Enwo, representing Afikpo North/South Federal Constituency in Ebonyi State and deputy chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations. Enwo alleged that Prof. Ikpeme rejected a list of 17 newly graduated medical doctors sent by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) for their mandatory one-year housemanship, citing that 15 of the 17 doctors were of Igbo extraction. Despite appeals from the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), UCTH management, and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Cross River, Enwo said the CMD refused to reverse his decision. “By rejecting a bona fide list of medical doctors on the grounds of tribe or region, Prof. Ikpeme is in dangerous violation of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which protects citizens from discrimination on account of tribe or tongue,” Enwo stated. The lawmaker also warned that the CMD’s actions could worsen the healthcare workforce shortage, noting that Nigeria currently has about 40,000 licensed doctors, far below the estimated 300,000 needed to meet national healthcare demands. He argued that the alleged bias encourages brain drain and threatens national unity, potentially aggravating divisiveness, insecurity, and instability. The House speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, called for a voice vote, and lawmakers overwhelmingly supported the motion.