Reactions have continued to trail the efforts of the Board Chairman of Federal Medical Center, {FMC} Dr Dayo Israel at restoring peace to the Federal Medical Center, Abeokuta.
Salient Times reports that the newly appointed Board Chairman, Dr Dayo Israel who resumed duty about two weeks ago has upon his resumption, met a series of challenges and crisis on ground, a situation which made him face the issues headlong.
It was gathered that upon his resumption, Dr Dayo Israel met on ground issues of some staff of the Hospital being dragged before the Nigerian Police, Ogun State Command Eleweran, Abeokuta following petitions from aggrieved staff.
The petition was a fall out from the appointment of a substantive Director of administration for the FMC, Abeokuta.
Apart from the Police issue, many of the Staff were also unhappy with the alleged high handedness of the Chief Medical Director of the Hospital, Prof. Adewale Musa-Olomu, with the Staff accusing him of calling them unprintable names whenever they have issues with him or during any minor arguments.
Our Correspondent gathered that the Board Chairman had received not less than Five petitions within a week that he resumed duty, a situation he saw that must not be allowed to fester, hence his resolve to settle those he saw that will impede the smooth running of the Center.
Writing on his X verified page, Dayo Israel said the Hospital received the Minister of Health (State) at FMC Abeokuta on a working visit.
“It is a honour that in less than 2 weeks of resuming as Board Chairman, we have the presence of the Minister in our institution to inspect ongoing project, see first hand our issues and also listen to our staff express their desire for his intervention. Grateful to the HM for his visit”.
Salient Times gathered that the Minister’s visit rather than finding lasting peace to issues on ground, opened more wounds as the staff, Union leaders and Journalists on ground were entertained with series of ‘revelations’ and more issues emanating from the peace meeting.
It was gathered that the meeting with the Honorable Minister of State (Health) which took place at the Telemedicine Hall of the FMC, came with the appeal from the Minister that all parties should bury their hatchets and allow peace to reign.
He advised the Board Chairman to allow the CMD to run the hospital based on his mandate, while the CMD should also respect the authority of the Board being the eyes of Mr President in the Hospital.
But writing on his verified X Page, Dayo Isreal said “For those people who say I am doing too much, or think board chairman is just to attend meetings and ceremony, here is the Establishment Act. This is just 10% of the duty of the board in the establishment law.
“You do speak your ignorance when you open your mouth and speak based on what you are not grounded on. The Board chairman put his political weight behind management to make things happen for the institution. In particular an institution that did not access up to 10% of its budget in 2024.
Also one Akeem Erinjogunola wrote ‘Dayo Israel, seem to stem from baseless and politically motivated malice. As the chairman of the board of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), his role involves ensuring the centre’s productivity. To achieve this, he must engage with stakeholders from the host community, fostering collaboration to enhance the centre’s development and productivity.
“In contrast, the Medical Director (MD) lacks the political will to drive productivity at the centre. The chairman, representing the presidency, possesses the necessary political will to boost the centre’s productivity. To achieve this, he must engage with stakeholders, bringing them on board to contribute to the centre’s development and, ultimately, its growth and success. Let’s put an end to these mischievous comments.
Meanwhile, when the Minister, Dr Salako visited the hospital, he, the Board Chairman and other management staff then met to deliberate on the way forward.
Speaking during the interactive meeting, Dayo Israel said upon his resumption he was faced with a series of challenges and apart from the internal wrangling, The Board Chairman alleged that the Hospital claimed to be spending about N50 million monthly on diesel while a substantial amount is also being spent on Water.
Dr. Dayo Israel claimed that from the books made available to him, only a few amounts which are less than N30 Million goes to diesel and efforts to trace the balance of about N20 million monthly seems to be an herculan task.
He also lamented the lack of due process in the handling of staff matters . Though the Minister was able to manage the programme with maturity, few of the Union leaders and some management staff present were surprised upon hearing the revelations from the Board Chairman. To calm the nerves, the Minister sues for peace and assured that the Ministry will look into all issues raised at the meeting.
Not done, the Union leaders started singing different songs to commend the Board Chairman for his leadership acumen, assuring him of their support.
Meanwhile, the federal government of Nigeria has appealed to the state health sector to domesticate the Mental Health Act at the state level.
The call was made by the Hon. Minister of State Health and Welfare Hon. Iziaq Salako during a town hall meeting at the Neuropsychiatric Hospitals, Aro, Abeokuta, the state capital.
Salako disclosed that President Bola Tinubu prioritize the health sector, which is evident in the Mental Health Act that has been passed, majorly to provide a more robust framework in ensuring that the mental health of Nigerians is secured.
He appealed to the Ogun State Ministry of Health through the Commissioner for Health, Hon. Tomi Coker to domesticate the Health Act at the state level.
According to him ” the Government of President Bola Tinubu has particularly prioritized the health sector. The Mental Health Act has been passed which provides a more robust framework for ensuring that the mental health of Nigerians is secured. We have already put together a mechanism at the federal Ministry of Health to ensure the implementation of that mental health”.
“Let me use this opportunity to appeal to the state through the Commissioner for Health to also take this mental health and domesticate it at the state level. The mental health assessment committee is provided for in the Mental Health Act. For us to be able to action those committees at the state level, domestication of the act is very important so let us work quickly and see how we can domesticate the law in Ogun state”.
Speaking on the issues of health challenges which include ‘Japa’, especially in the health sector, Salako noted that a major challenge is human resources which is worsened by Japa syndrome.
He disclosed that the President has given the ministry a very robust mechanism to address it, by giving the waiver to recruit more health workers than any other sector.
“If you reflect on the challenges of the health sector in Nigeria, the number one challenge is human resources for health which is now worsened by the japa syndrome. Medical practitioners are leaving the country and this is affecting the health sector, especially mental health. We are not claiming unaware of this challenge, we have put together a very robust mechanism to address it”.
“We are expanding our capacity to train health workers, and we are also harvesting the Nigerian health workers in the diaspora – we are having a robust diasporan engagement with Nigerian health workers in the UK, US, and Ireland, they may not be a physical presence but we can still harvest their contributions to the health sector in Nigeria.
“Mr President has given us a waiver to recruit more health workers than any other sector. These are the mechanisms we are putting in place to make sure that we address the challenges in the health sector. Another challenge is a fund, of course, we know that since President Tinubu came to office allocation of funds to the health sector has increased” he posited.
In her response, the Hon. Commissioner for Health in Ogun state, Hon. Tomi Coker emphasized that there is a continued collaboration with the federal government.
She declared that Ogun State will domesticate the Mental Health Act, noting that it is one of the commitments of the s
State to the people, as regards the popular saying that “health is wealth”.
” Ogun State will domesticate the Mental Health Act. This act is crucial in addressing the growing number of mental health disorders worldwide, including in Nigeria, the nearest facility to the people is the primary health care system, which is the nearest facility to patients and citizens. This will involve training health workers at the primary health level, upgrading health facilities, and establishing referral centers.
“The federal government and Ogun State have a history of collaboration, particularly in the health sector. They have worked together to upgrade health facilities, such as the B and C mug centers, and have established tertiary referral centers like the ARO neuropsychiatric hospital and the Federal Medical Center Abeokuta. This partnership is essential in ensuring that citizens have access to quality mental health services, particularly in rural areas. By working together, the federal government and Ogun State can address the growing mental health needs of the population and provide a safer and healthier environment for all”
Earlier in his address, the Provost and Medical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Dr Paul Agboola, disclosed that the Neuropsychiatric hospital is ready to partner with the state government to domesticate the Mental Health Act.
“It’s quite a great joy for us that the Minister is visiting the hospital. We are looking for collaboration from the Ministry of Health on the implementation of the Mental Health Act.
“We want to collaborate with the state government to domesticate the Mental Health Act in Ogun state. I have spoken with the health commissioner and she is ready for the domestication”.
Highlight of the meeting.
Inspection of Construction of Clinical Call Duty Rooms/Supervisory Office at Neuropsychiatric hospital annex at Lantoro, town hall meeting at the FMC Idiaba, Abeokuta, and inspection of projects and constructions at the hospital.
