OAUTH Embroiled In Job Racketeering Scandal

The federal government, on Sunday, announced the suspension of the Acting Director, Administration, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, OAUTH, Ile Ife, Tajudeen Balogun, over his involvement in the institution's job racketeering saga. 

Tajudeen, who was appointed as Acting Director, Administration, in the wake of the scandal, was suspended for his involvement in the illegal job recruitment exercise.

He is said to be a co-culprit with the CMD, Dr Olumuyiwa Owojuyigbe, who has since absconded from his duty post. 

The announcement is contained in a Federal Ministry of Health statement signed by its spokesperson, Ms Patricia Deworitshe.

The suspension, according to the statement, is sequel to the findings of a panel of enquiry over alleged job racketeering in the institution following incidents of labour unrest. 

The statement disclosed that the panel uncovered "...over-employment and job racketeering in the establishment" without any provision in the personnel budget. 

Dr Owojuyigbe and his alleged partners, the statement said, conducted two separate recruitment exercises from which they employed over 1,973 staff instead of 450. 

A breakdown indicates that rather than employ 230 in the first exercise as contained in the 2022 waiver given by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, OHCSF, the CMD employed 600.

In the second exercise, he recruited 1,823 staff instead of 220. 

“At the end of the two phases, the hospital recruited 2,423 staff instead of 450. As such, 1,973 staff members were recruited in excess of the approved waiver.”

“The report of the panel states that Olumuyiwa was embroiled in over-employment and job racketeering in the establishment, without provision in the personnel budget for over 1,973 workers illegally employed.

“The report further noted that the 450 workers waiver granted to OAUTH was for the recruitment of clinical staff, but only 55 clinical staff were employed, while others were nonclinical staff,” Ms Deworitshe pointed out. 

The recruitment by Dr Owojuyigbe also showed an unusual imbalance in the institution's established clinical and non-clinical staff recruitment ratio. Usually and in line with extant order, recruitment is built around a 3:1 ratio in favour of clinical staff.

But out of a cumulative 7,279 recruited staff, the embattled CMD adopted the unusual ratio 1:1 which had 3,034 clinical staff and 4,245 non-clinical staff respectively. 

According to Ms Deworitshe, many of those recruited by the CMD lacked requisite academic and professional qualifications. 

“The outcome of the recruitment exercise also revealed that OAUTH has a staff strength of 7,279 (out of which 3,034 were clinical staff and 4,245 were non-clinical staff, this translates to a non-clinical staff ratio of approximately 1:1 instead of the recommended 3:1, that is three clinical to one non-clinical).

“It further stated that many recruited staff were without requisite academic and professional certificates as well as evidence of National Youth Service Corps certificates," she said