UNIBEN TEACHING HOSPITAL CMD AND WIFE EMBEZZLE PUBLIC FUNDS AND TURNS CONTRACT STAFF TO SLAVES AGAINST FG LAW

Secret Reporters

As fraud continues to trail the health sector, with the presidency yet to beam searchlight on it, reports reaching Secret Reporters from the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) reveals dirty fraud committed by the Chief Medical Director, Mr Micheal O. Ibadin.

Sources who confided in us cried out that unless something urgent is done, Ibadin will sell the hospital to himself before his tenure expire. In a mafia style of governance, we gathered authoritatively that the CMD has turned the hospital into a family business, running it as he desires, with no one challenging him.

Smarter than the devil, he has broken the Federal Government law that kicks against the use of contract staff. This is his stock in trade through which he has turned to a multi millionaire, revealed our sources.

Contrary to his denial to the officials of the ministry of health that there are no contract staffs in UBTH, extensive investigations carried out revealed that majority of the workers in the hospitals are contract staff, who are better classified as slaves. The contract staffs who makes up 70% of the workforce are found in every department do most of the job, yet earn the lowest.
Fact findings carried out by this medium shows that the fattest salary for some contract staff is Twelve Thousand Naira, while the least paid is Nine Thousand Naira, which is not up to the stipulated minimum wage paid by the Federal Government.

Despite the poor salaries paid, the contract staffs are mandated by Ibadin to resume work by 6am and close by 6pm, while none clinical staff employed fully resume work by 8am and close by 4pm and earn a minimum of fifty thousand Naira monthly, as well as enjoy shifts in their duties.

This medium gathered that Ibadin who pays these contract staff lied to the authorities that they are full time staff, and thus get salaries from the FG to pay them, but never do, as he diverts the balance to his numerous accounts.

Our findings also revealed that the previous Government had sent a message to the CMD to stop contracting workers but he was able to manipulate and maneuver his way and the issue died down all of a sudden and those that are sent from Abuja to verify most times, go back with what he tells them that there are no contract workers in UBTH, without them verifying.

“They’ve deliberately refused to staff the contract workers and refused to increase the salaries. And they are people who have spent up to 12yrs or more as contract workers in the establishment without hope. There are issues of delayed payment of the peanuts which comes at the middle or even end of the next month. Dem go soon staff, Dem go soon staff yet no hope”, stated a source.

Many of the contract workers we gathered are graduates from higher institutions with good grades, earning the peanuts monthly after all the sufferings.

Further checks reveal that Ibadin and his cohorts run the hospital like his personal property. He slashes workers’ salaries at will not because he wants to use it for the betterment of the establishment but because he feels nobody can do anything to him, sources claimed.

The contract workers use red, pink, yellow, navy blue, sky blue, green, purple, grey uniforms. Each color representing different contractors and so many don’t even wear uniforms. Whenever delegates from the FMOH visits the hospital, the CMD directs that none of the contract staff should be seen in the environment but go into hiding.

In order to cover up his crimes, he instructed the security men who are ironically contract staffs never to allow anyone who identifies himself as a journalist into the hospital premises.

In a smart move, we gathered that Ibadin has found a way of warming himself into the FMOH top shots, by returning huge sum of money running into hundreds of millions tagged as “excess and unused” to Federal Government’s account to make him seem like a prudent and honest man and keep EFCC off his neck and in turn, he gets to himself, 20% of the money returned as compensation.

Further checks uncovered shows that his wife who is as wicked as he is, is one of the contractors and the biggest of them all but she will not show her face, delegating it to different people to handle for her.

Again, the high exorbitant fees he charges patients are higher than those charged in private clinics. Where Paracetamol sells for N70 within the hospital but sold at N20 outside. He claims the excess of N50 is for consumables, ripping out the pockets of the poor masses that can’t afford private medical care and turn to government for succor. These monies made and generated internally are not remitted to the government.

As at the time of this report, the workers have not been paid for the past 3 months and are under severe threats of sack if they speak or cry out.

*** Watch out for the current recruitment scandal conducted by him