NNEWI— THE Federal Government has been asked to probe the finances of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) Nnewi. Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) NAUTH Nnewi made the call at a press conference addressed by its president Dr. Jude Mgbemena, who dismissed claim by the mangement that less than 2 million naira is generated as internal revenue monthly. The doctors alleged that over 124 million had been released to the management of the hospital to defray its debt but the management refused to pay them. But reacting to the doctors call for probe Acting Chief Medical Director Dr Robinson Ofiaeli said “there are aspects of the hospital administration they don’t even understand and they go about talking about what they don’t know with wrong figures to back up their claims.
According to the doctors, “why must the Federal Government release over 67million naira every month while the hospital will be generating less than 2 million naira monthly where you have over 50 doctors working; there is high level fraud in this hospital. “NAUTH Nnewi is a center for excellence in fraud”. They also threated to write to Independence Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) if the Federal Ministry of Health refuses to probe the management of the hospital.
“Now the new way of intimidation and silencing us is inviting SSS to come and arrest us for demanding our rights but we cannot be intimidated. We are committed to convincing every ear that cares to hear that we are not a bunch of cannibals or touts as the Acting CMD potrays us, we are still medical doctors that passed through medical school, obedient to the Federal Ministry of Health. The CMD calls us all sorts of names because we insisted that our 22 per cent salary increase arrears must be paid to us and we are against the fraud that is going on in this hospital” said the doctors.
Reacting further to the allegation of fraud, the Acting CMD Dr Ofiaeli said, “If you are talking about the gross earning of the hospital it is different from what you will consider as a profit. If you are talking about the gross earning of the hospital certainly we cannot be making less than 2 million.
““There was no time I said the hospital generate less than 2 million, these resident doctors, (Mgbemena and his group) carry false information about, I don'’t know where they get their figures. The revenue returns for the month of June during their strike was eight million one hundred and thirty six thousand naira (N8,136,000) gross, when Mgbemena and his group were not working. “So the profit from this may be around four million Naria (N4,00.000). ““So they move about without figures”
On the alleged 124 million naira released to the management to defray the 22 percent salary increase arrears, ofiaeli said, “resident doctors should produced the evidence of the release of the money”.
He however disclosed that he has paid the doctors the 13 months arrears of the 22 percent salary increase arrears.
