The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Federal Teaching Hospital Lokoja (FTHL) chapter, has once again called on President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of Health, Prof. Ali Pate, to investigate what they described as worsening conditions, facility decay, and inhumane treatment at the hospital.
During a peaceful protest on Friday at the hospital premises in Lokoja, the doctors also demanded the immediate reinstatement of their suspended president, Dr. Jimoh Umar, who was removed last year due to the association’s activities.
Speaking at the protest, Dr. Olushola Baoku, the immediate past chairman of the association, lamented the sharp decline in the hospital’s medical workforce, stating that the number of doctors had dropped from 315 to just 43 due to poor working conditions.
He further criticized the employment terms of many doctors at the hospital, describing them as exploitative. According to him, some doctors are employed on short-term contracts that require renewal every two months, denying them pension, promotion, hazard allowances, and other benefits.
“This category of doctors have no pension, no promotion, no hazard allowance, no minimum wage award, and they work in a harsh environment where facilities in the hospital are not functioning,” Baoku said.
He also alleged that despite directives from the Federal Ministry of Health for hospital management to use internally generated revenue to clear outstanding salaries, many workers remain unpaid.
“Some of our doctors have been renewing their contracts for the past five years instead of being fully employed. Since 2012, this hospital has not employed a single doctor or health worker, leading to severe manpower shortages in all departments,” he added.
The association, which has staged three protests in the past week, accused the hospital’s Chief Medical Director (CMD), Dr. Olatunde Alabi, of turning the facility into a “slave camp” for doctors. They claimed that multiple petitions had been sent to the Minister of Health, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Head of Service, and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), but no action had been taken.
Dr. Baoku recounted incidents highlighting the hospital’s deteriorating state, including the death of a staff member in the Accident and Emergency Unit due to power failure and an attack on medical personnel by a patient’s relative over inadequate equipment.
He also alleged that the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is incapable of keeping a patient stable for three hours due to a lack of functional facilities.
The association further accused the CMD of disregarding a directive from the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate, through the Permanent Secretary, Ms. Kachollom Shangti Daju, which approved the reinstatement of Dr. Jimoh Umar on December 12, 2024.
“The letter reached the hospital on January 11, 2025, but the CMD, Dr. Olatunde Alabi, has deliberately refused to implement it,” Baoku stated, citing violations of civil service rules.
The protesting doctors urged the federal government to intervene urgently to prevent the total collapse of the hospital.
