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By Kadiri Christopher 

A group, Edo Integration Network (EIN) has warned Dr Alfred Ogbemudia, a medical practitioner at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) to stop parading himself as the Chief Executive of the newly established National Orthopaedic Hospital in Benin City, Edo State.

Gatekeepers News reports that that the group issued the warning in a statement made available by its Spokespersons, Dr. Etinosa Edomwonyi and Barr. Patrick Biose stated that.

EIN said: “It has come to our notice that a certain Dr Alfred Ogbemudia has been parading himself as the Chief Executive of the newly established National Orthopaedic Hospital in Edo State. We wish to inform the general public that whereas there was an initial ambiguity in the twilight of the last administration of President Muhammadu Buhari regarding the headship of the new tertiary health institution owning to double appointments made by the immediate past Minister and Minister of State for Health respectively, the matter was effectively laid to rest with the confirmation of the appointment of Dr Philip Ugbodaga, a renowned Consultant Maxillofacial Surgeon, involved in the treatment of broken bones of the face, as the substantive Medical Director of the institution by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with effect from August 1st, 2024 for an initial term of four years. The letter conveying presidential approval to the Federal Ministry of Health was personally signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Sen (Dr) George Akume.”

Continuing, the group noted that, “as is usual with most appointments in Nigeria, there were protests and petitions written to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation against the presidential confirmation of Dr Philip Ugbodaga and Dr. Chubado Tahir as the Medical Directors of the National Orthopaedic Hospitals in Benin and Jalingo respectively.

“The petitions were however dismissed and a written memo to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare requested him to comply with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the appointments. It is therefore surprising that whereas the factional Medical Director of the similar hospital in Jalingo, Dr Habila Umaru has since accepted the presidential intervention in good faith, the said Dr Ogbemudia has continued to illegally and vexatiously parade himself as the Medical Director of the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Benin in total disrespect to the person of the President of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Health”.

According to the group, “ just like there must be an end to litigation in court cases, there must also be an end to an ambition which has been brought to finality with the presidential approval of a substantive Chief Executive for the hospital in the person of Dr Philip Ugbodaga. No one must create an impression that Edo people are not organised and unprepared to host the South South geopolitical zone hospital whose slot was strategically cited in Edo State”, the group added.

It would be recalled that there has been a leadership crisis in the newly established National Orthopaedic Hospital in Edo State resulting from a disagreement between the immediate past Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire and the Minister of State for Health, Hon Joseph Ekumankama in the days leading up to the handover of power by the last administration. While Ehanire felt slighted that as a minister representing Edo State, he ought to nominate the Chief Executive of the new institution, it was discovered that the mandate for the appointment and subsequent recommendation to the President for ratification laid with the Minister of State, Ekumankama which he exercised when he noticed that Ehanire was not forthcoming with his input in the process. It was thought that with the President Tinubu’s confirmation of the appointment of Dr Philip Ugbodaga, who is a former Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Edo State Branch as well as a former Medical Director of Edo State’s apex Hospital in Benin City, the tussle had effectively been brought to an end. However, those who lost out had refused to sheath their sword culminating in two people attending the Joint Senate and House Committee session of the 2024 Budget in Abuja last week, a scenario that created an embarrassment for the Committee and the government.

A Coalition of the Civil Society Community (CCSC) in Edo State had last week called on the Edo State Caucus in the National Assembly to immediately wade into the impasse with a view to resolving the issue to enable the people benefit from the well-intentioned establishment of the health institution in the state. According to the group, “It is disconcerting and worrisome that whereas all other CEOs of the other health institutions have all resumed in their respective centres, the National Orthopaedic Hospital in Edo State is still enmeshed in some seeming crisis owning to some confusion about the authentic Chief Executive of the hospital resulting in the embarrassment of having two individuals attending the 2024 budget defence of the hospital on friday, 8th December, 2024 on behalf of the hospital as Medical Directors”. You must therefore act fast to resolve the issue”, the group added.