Gross Financial Misconduct and Highhandedness: The staff of the federal medical center Owerri have registered teh accumulated administrative pains and high handedness of the Medical Director, Dr Angela Uwakwem to the unions secretariat and demand that she should step aside for thorough investigation and audit over her mal administrative servies. Their anger based on such prayer is itemized below:

 

1. FINANCIAL MISAPPROPRIATION

a. Virement

The unions have discovered that the personnel monies released by the accountant general of teh federation last year 2014 for the payment of workers 2013/2014 promotion arrears was vired into capital project by the medical director of the hospital knowing fully well that the money was meant to take care of personnel costs. The capital project was the CT-Scan which the process of the purchase never passed through procurement steps. If virement of personnel costs to capital project is a serious offence sir, why cant the medical direcor step aside?

 

b. OVER TIME: 

It is a naked truth that the medical director paid herself overtime. Overtime as enshrined in extant rules is only paid to workers on Grade level 14 and below. Our medical director is on grade level 17 top salaries and enjoys over time. such indictment is a huge enough for her resignation for peace to reign in the center.

 

c. EMPLOYMENT RACKETEERING:

The medical director employs staff and back dates their appointments. This has been her practice in the hospital for some years now. The monies for the back dated months are never paid to the staff.

 

d. ILLEGAL AMENITY (ONH) ACCOUNT:

With due respecdt sir, if sincerity can be borrowed here, which account does the medical director pay the monies generated from amenity wards to? It may interest you to know that the Amenity ward has a special bank account number that is not known to the account department. That is why PPP is a personal agenda

 

2. HIGH-HANDEDNESS

a. VICTIMIZATION:

There is no security of job in FMCO. The board can testify that the MD's administration has witnessed more queries, warning letters, suspensions, withdrawals from service, resignations, termination of appointments etc than any other regime in the history of the centre.

 

Sometimes, the baords decisions are doctored to suit MD's own before communication to staff even without the board knowing of such counter decisions. Genuine complains made to the board through the MD most at times never get to the board. Even some board's decision favourable to some staff with financial implications are never implemented by management and when the staff complains to the board throught the MD, the written complaint is suppressed.

 

There seems to be a heavy discrepancy between IPPIS payment in FMCO and that of other institutions. In FMCO the opposite is the case. The oppressive regime of the MD has victimized so many intelligent and hardworking staff of the centre for so many years that some of those they documented on entry into service are now their seniors.

 

The MD's fair hearing and treatment is subjective and personal. While some senior staff have no comfort or privacy in their offices. some who came into service a few years ago have all the comfort and promotion because of their relationship with her.

 

The priviledges and advanctages of being a public servant under the PSR (public service rule) do not apply to the staff of FMCO

 

In a nutshell, the medical director is highly annihilative and vindictive. The union sincerely requests her stepping aside. The allegations against her are evidence based.

 

In conclusion, the staff has lost confidence in her ability to manage man, materials, finance and resources and insist she should resign for thorough investigation on these weighty allegations since she can not be a judge in her own case

 

(Text of the petition addressed to the chairman, Management board of the federal medical center owerri by the House Unions of the FMC Owerri Chapter)