The Akwa Ibom State government has accused medical consultants in its employ of abandoning their duty post despite the incentives they have enjoyed, including sponsorship for training and being provided with the necessary equipment and facilities.
The health commissioner, Ekem Emmanuel John, spoke at a press conference to explain the reforms in the health sector following the state of emergency declared by Governor Umo Eno to reposition the sector.
Ekem said the two consultants, one in the area of radiology and the other a specialist in haematology, had abandoned their duty posts despite incentives given by the state government.
He said the state government was committed to addressing the challenges in the sector as the governor has approved the recruitment of 2000 health workers, a development he described as the first in the history of the state.
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He attributed the unfortunate incident at the Ikot Ekpene General Hospital, where a mother and her newborn died due to the absence of a medical consultant who was expected to be on duty.
According to him, the affected hospital has enough health workers and could not have been said to be inadequately staffed.
“Our General Hospital, Ikot Ekpene, is properly staffed with consultants, chief medical officers and medical officers,
“The only place we have a challenge in that particular hospital in terms of staffing is radiology.
“The consultant there was trained by the Akwa Ibom state government for eight years to do his residency.
“On completion of his residency, he decided not to work at the General Hospital where he was before the training
“He returned quite alright, signed the papers, received salaries, and then disappeared to Lagos.
“We got a wink of the fact that he was keeping two full-time jobs, which is a criminal offence, we gave him the soft landing to resign and to come to fulfil his role in Akwa Ibom state,
“The public service rule is clear: when you are undergoing training, you have different routes, you apply for study leave without pay. What the government will do for you is that they will pause your salary, pause your promotion, but you will be entitled to return to your job, on completion, unless you resign.
“So when you get a study leave without pay, you will return to your job, and the government will not replace you. It is simply keeping your position for you, and they will not employ a replacement.
When you come back, that place is secured, you walk in, and you continue.
“When you are on study leave with pay, it is very clear, for every one year of study, you must give back to the state, one year of service minimum before you are allowed to resign.
If you study for four years, you must give a minimum of four years before you can resign if
“The alternative is they would return all the salaries he was paid in the last eight years., This has gone on for so long, the state government would invest in doctors, train them to do residency and as soon as they finish, have the requisite qualifications, they will not go elsewhere when they do not qualify.
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“The government spends money on them to give them that qualification, and they will not keep to their own part of the bargain.”
He urged members of the public to frown at such dishonesty instead of putting pressure on the government.
“Anybody who wants to j’apa’ is free to j’apa’ but not with the state government’s investment. So we are not stopping anybody from the leaving, if you feel the grass is greener over there, you can go but many who have gone, have returned, ” he stated.
