Minister says verdict almost ready, advises racketeers to exit service

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Muhammad Pate, has, for the umpteenth time, reacted to the lingering crisis at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH) over the alleged job racketeering which has led to the nonpayment of some workers for almost a year.

Mr Pate, in a statement shared on the X handle of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, explained reasons for the delayed action on the matter, saying the ministry is working out the possibilities of addressing the issue.

Earlier in November 2023, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the ministry issued a statement signed by its Director of Press, Patricia Deworitshe, confirming the indictment of some officials of the hospital including a former Acting Chief Medical Director, Afolabi Owojuyigbe, of engaging in job racketeering.

The ministry said an investigative panel led by Aderemi Azeez found that Mr Owojuyigbe carried out over-employment in the hospital, without provision in the personnel budget.

According to the statement, the panel disclosed that Mr Owojuyigbe, a Consultant anaesthetist, employed over 1,973 staff as against the waiver for 450 vacancies granted to the hospital by the federal government in the 2022 employment process.

Mr Owojuyigbe and “his accomplices” are therefore culpable of job racketeering, according to the panel.

Workers murmur

Meanwhile, as a result of the development many of the employed workers have not received their salaries for about a year since their employment. However, the government is insisting that the employment is illegal and that the government has no money to pay the “illegal” employees.

However, the affected workers have taken to social media to accuse the government of subjecting them to penury.

They said the ministry is deliberately delaying the process to frustrate them out of the job.

Minister responds

The minister has, however, said the ministry is still working to resolve the issue, saying many of those illegally engaged are non-clinical workers “and there is no money in the hospital to pay for them.”

In a statement shared Monday on X, Mr Pate alleged that many of the job seekers and their sponsors influence peddlers and made illegal transactions to secure the illegal positions.

He clarified that “the issue is primarily an OAUTH mismanagement of employment issues with collusion between a few civil actors in the institution, some corrupt individuals, and many desperate job seekers.”

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He said OAUTH was reportedly approved to recruit 450 health workers but “unfortunately, almost 2000 additional employment /job offers were granted above the number.”

“Now, the quandary is how to tease out the truly legally employed versus the illegal ones,” he said.

Resolution

The Minister disclosed in the statement that the ministry is “soon coming with some of the difficult decisions while avoiding embarrassment for the innocent as much as possible.”

He pleaded that those who racketeered should “quietly consider moving on while we find ways to resolve for the more innocent caught in the mess.”

About Owojuyigbe

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Mr Owojuyigbe was appointed the Acting CMD of the teaching hospital in March 2022 when the then substantive CMD, Victor Adetiloye, a professor, left the office.

This newspaper also confirmed that apart from Messrs Owojuyigbe and Tajudeen who were suspended in July, the hospital’s Director of Establishment, Lekan Ganiyu, was also suspended.