Ethnic sentiment rocks appointment of CMD for Irrua Specialist Hospital

By Editor

July 14, 2023

As interview for the appointment of substantive Chief Medical Director for the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) is concluded, the final announcement for the appointment has been laced with ethnic sentiments between the people of Edo Central and Edo North senatorial districts.

Dailymonitorngr reports that the struggle for the exalted position was between candidates from two senatorial districts. The hospital is sited in Edo Central.

The search for a substantive CMD was occasioned by the retirement of Professor Sylvanus Okogbenin, the immediate past head of the hospital.

The interview which had been concluded reportedly has Dr Mojeed Momoh from the Edo North defeating other candidates which are from Edo Central as well as the Acting Chief Medical Director, who hails from Edo South.

Reacting to the allegation of ethnic sentiment being pondered by the Edo Central senatorial district, Dr Desmond Iyokpa, president Edo North League described the rejection of the concluded interview which produced Dr Mojeed Momoh as uncalled for and negation of the policies of assumption to exalt position in a Federal Government institution.

Desmond, who noted that the institution was not established for the people of Edo central senatorial district alone called on president Bola Ahmed Tinubu to approve the appointment of a new CMD for the hospital based on merit and not ethnic sentiments.

According to him, we are worried that if the primordial ethnic sentiments are allowed to prevail, it will spell doom for the medical institution and damage the morale and work ethics in the establishment.

"We therefore, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to restore sanity in the hospital by upholding competence and capacity over and above ethnicity and pronounce the substantive CMD based on merit as exemplified by the performance of the candidates", he said.

Desmond's reactions was occasioned by a petition written by Esan Descendants Assembly (EDA), a non-governmental organization calling for the cancellation of the already conducted interview for candidates vying for the CMD position of the hospital.

The petition dated April 15, 2023 and addressed to the then Minister for Health, Osagie Ehanire was signed by Prof Oyaziwo Aluede and Ayo Binite as president and secretary respectively.

The organization which parades itself as a non-partisan organization said its objectives among others was to protect and project the Esan interest in all spheres.

The petitioners said the body is made up of prominent Esan sons and daughters.

It alleged that the panel that conducted the interview were financially induced to compromise the final outcome of the exercise.

It also added that they are the custodian of the hospital which is the only Federal Government industry in the Edo Central Senatorial district.

The body opined that whoever occupies the position of Chief Medical Director (CMD) of Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital (ISTH) becomes paramount to them. 

DailyMonitorngr further reports that after the interview panel submitted its report to the ministry, with all the members signing, the formal announcement of the substantive CMD of the hospital became caught up in the web of the expiration of the tenure of the Buhari administration.

The nine-member interview panel was constituted by the supervising ministry to screen and conduct tests among the five shortlisted candidates to determine the most suitable candidate for the position.

The nine-member panel which include two resource persons, scored Dr. Momoh above the other contestants.

Five candidates contesting the exalted position are staff of the hospital. Three of them, excluding the Acting Chief Medical Director, Prof. Reuben Eifediyi, which hailed from Edo South senatorial district are Dr. Mojeed Momoh, from Edo North and not from Esan (Edo Central).