Kogiflame
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja (FTHL), on Monday embarked on a protest demanding the immediate reinstatement of its suspended President, Dr. Jimoh Umar.
The Doctors made the demand during a protest carried out against the management of the FTHL led by the Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr Olatunde Alabi, on Monday.
The protest doctors who walked round the hospital premises carries placards with various inscriptions: such as “Reinstate our President, Uphold Abuja Accord”; “Stop Killing of FTH Lokoja, Dr Alabi”; and “Enough is Enough, Reinstate our President”.
The Doctors demanded that the FTHL management should immediately effect the directive of the Federal Government through the Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, approving the reinstatement of the suspended ARD FTHL President, Dr. Jimoh Umar.
Recalled that Dr Umar, was suspended for actions he carried out as a head of a union that was a collective decision of all the resident doctors of the hospital in 2024 by the management of FTHL.
Speaking to newsmen, after the protest, Dr Olushola Baoku, the immediate past Chairman of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Kogi, demanded for the immediate reinstatement of ARD FTHL suspended President, as directed by the Minister.
“The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate through the Permanent Secretary, Ms Kachollom Shangti Daju,, has approved the reinstatement of Dr Jimoh Umar since December 12, 2024.
“The letter got to the FTHL on January 11, 2025, but the CMD, Dr Olatunde Alabi, has deliberately refused to effect the content of the letter as directed by the Minister.
“All we are saying as doctors is that the CMD should obey the superior order according to the Section 3 of Civil Service Rule 100402 (u and aa) and 100301 (D and I) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“It says refusal to treat official file, violation of auto secrecy, act unbecoming of a public officer and insubordination, are all acts of misconduct. All these are contained in the public service rule, and all of us are under the public service rules including the CMD.
“So, if the Minister has approved a letter through the Perm. Sec., nobody under the PS from top to bottom must refuse to act. That is gross insubordination, and it is contrary and arbitrary to the renewed Hope Agent of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We are stakeholders’ in this country and we will not allow sabotage. We are calling on the CMD to immediately release the letter that is in his custody and reinstate the ARD FTHL President, Dr Jimoh Umar.
“We are also calling on the CMD to obey the “Accord of Abuja” on July 18, 2024, where the CMD promised to pay all outstanding arrears of doctors before December 2024 in the presence of the Minister and the Perm. Sec.
“You cannot violate a memorandum of understanding MoU). So, we are asking the CMD to call on the top management committee to pay all doctors arrears,” Baoku said.
Baoku, who is the NMA National Committee Chairman on Universal Health Care, and holder of Intergrity Icon of Nigeria, also called for immediate recruitment of doctors at FTHL, saying there was gross manpower shortage.
He added: “Again we are asking for recruitment of more doctors at FTHL as we are dying of work overload due gross inadequate of doctors, nurses, attendance even the cleaners.
“This is not ‘Japa’ syndrome but self inflicted migration; people are leaving this hospital on daily basis because of casualisation of doctors.
“So, we are calling on the CMD to immediately advertise and recruit more doctors and other health workers into the hospital.
“Even though, the CMD has been claiming that he was not granted waivers by the federal government, hence, we are passionately appealing to the Minister to promptly give waiver to enable the management employ more doctors”.
“Again, we are saying no victimisation of doctors because there is provision for right to protest and demand for our rights under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; right to demand for equity, fairness and accountability.
“So, there should be no victimisation for demanding for your rights, and we should not be shut down because we speak, and there should be no querry when we speak.
“Finally, we are calling the FTHL to work because we believe in the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu for effective service delivery to citizens in our hospitals.
“We believe in the vision of the President and we will not sit and fold our arms and allow his vision of delivering quality healthcare to Nigerians to be sabotaged.
“So all our departments and equipment must work, the A&E, X-RAY , ICU, Dialysis Unit must all work. These are our clear demands,”.
“We have also written series of letters of complaints to this effect to the Minister, the SGF, Head of Service to the Federation, before resorting to this final protest,” Baoku said
Also speaking, the embattled ARD FTHL President, Dr Jimoh Umar, described the unfolding event as very unfortunate, noting that the the association had been having series of issues with FTHL management since January 2024.
According to Umar, the critical issue is about the welfare of doctors and the gross shortage of manpower in the hospital.
“So, it is the deliberate refusal of the management to employ more doctors that is the root of the crises.
“On daily basis we see adverts from other federal hospitals employing more doctors regularly.
“It will interest you to know that when I joined the FTHL in 2019 , we had a total of over 210 resident doctors, but presently it has drastically dropped to 45 doctors which is depressing and not encouraging, resulting into work overload.
“One doctor is now doing the work of 10 to 11 doctors at FTHL. But instead of the management to listen to our demands, they resulted into victimisation.
“All we are saying is that the CMD should release and effect the federal government letter in his custody for me (Umar) to be reinstated.
“We can assure you that this protest is going to be a continuous exercise until our demands are met,” Umar said.
Other were: “Honour Minister’s Directive and Reinstate Dr Jimoh Umar”; “Pay All our outstanding Accoutrement Allowances, and Minimum Wages Arrears”; Bring back our President; Stop Casualisation of Doctors; 8 years in office, Zero Employment”, among others.
