… Calls for probe into alleged discrimination, seeks urgent intervention
By Chioma Obinna
A civil rights group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), on Monday called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to intervene in a controversy surrounding the alleged rejection of 17 newly posted medical house officers at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, Calabar.
In a press statement, HURIWA urged the President to direct the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Ali Pate, to work with relevant authorities to ensure a swift and transparent resolution of the matter, which it said has left young doctors stranded and unable to commence their mandatory one-year housemanship.
The group also appealed to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN), which issued the posting letters, to clarify the situation and ensure that due process is followed in line with extant regulations.
According to HURIWA, the affected house officers reported to UCTH within the stipulated time indicated on their MDCN posting letters, only to be informed that the hospital would not clear them for resumption. The doctors reportedly alleged that UCTH management raised concerns about “discrepancies” in the posting list, including the number of house officers posted and their backgrounds.
One of the affected doctors, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the house officers were surprised by the development, noting that their posting letters did not indicate any conditional acceptance.
“We arrived to resume as directed, but were later told the hospital had issues with the posting list and would not clear us,” the doctor said.
HURIWA stated that the doctors alleged that questions were raised by hospital officials about the composition of the posting list and the absence of candidates from the host state, as well as claims—yet to be substantiated, according to the doctors—that some postings may have been influenced by payments.
The group said the situation had caused hardship for the affected officers, some of whom reportedly relocated to Calabar and were left without accommodation or clear guidance on their next steps.
The press statement, signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, described the allegations as serious and deserving of an independent and impartial investigation.
The group stressed that all public institutions must operate strictly within the provisions of the Constitution, particularly Section 42, which guarantees freedom from discrimination.
Noting the most of the affected young doctors were Igbos, HURIWA condemned the ethnic chauvinistic tendencies in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital just as it stated that ethnic chauvinists have no place in the public service of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It regretted that: “Nearly 70 years after the Nigeria-Biafra civil war, we in the organised civil society community in Nigeria are miffed that some persons are continuously engineering IGBOPHOBIC tendencies and are inflicting punishments to youngsters who were mostly born in the new millennium and are obviously not even aware that there was a civil war that took place nearly a century ago only for them to be rudely and crudely reminded that this war that was fought by their ancestors called Nigeria-Biafra civil war is yet to end.
“HURIWA believes that these allegations, if proven, would amount to a violation of the constitutional rights of the affected doctors. We therefore call for immediate intervention by the Federal Government to ascertain the facts, protect the rights of all parties, and restore confidence in the system,” the statement said.
The group emphasised that its demand was for due process, fairness, and national cohesion, urging authorities to avoid actions or statements that could heighten tension or division.
As of the time of filing this report, officials of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria had not issued an official public response to the allegations.
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