Trail Reporters
Imo state Governor, Rochas Okoroacha has appointed alleged corrupt former Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre Owerri, as his special Assistant on Health.
Recollect that during Angela’s reign as MD, deposit for the new mortuary constructed by the federal government was fixed at one hundred thousand naira. The accident and emergency department had their bills fixed for three thousand naira per night for only accommodation, delivery packs for pregnant women previously provided for N1500 became N10,000. Every single thing in FMC Owerri had the cost quadrupled or more.
It was also alleged that, it is only in Federal Medical Centre Owerri that charges were being paid in the name of disposables used for the prevention of ebola. Every visiting or new patient pays it, that brought consultation fee to N500 from N300.
Feeding bill was N1800 daily and it is compulsory for every patient. You will enter some clinics and pay N2300 as card fee before you see a doctor,deposits of minimum of N50, 000 is required as deposit before admission to a ward, patients of the national health insurance scheme access quite few selected services as others are clearly not covered under FMC NHIS.
It would interest us to know that a staff of the hospital had surgery in University of Ife teaching hospital, caesarian section, was admitted for two weeks, sumptuously fed and was given a bill of ten naira (N10,00)simply because she is covered under the national health insurance scheme as a staff of a federal establishment. FMC Owerri under Dr. Mrs Angela Uwakwem typified the most inhuman management anywhere in this country.
Certain categories of staff have remained on level three for over ten years simply because the medical director has refused to allow them cross that cadre.
Ordinarily, the highest level for junior cadre is six so why are people on 3 for over a decade. Why would a senior staff without any justifiable reason remain on level 9 for nine years now? It is only in FMC Owerri that before you get a query for an alleged misconduct, your salary would have been stopped.
The former medical director knew everything and was head of everything. Employments were made with new staff placed on level 7 in paper and paid level 6 in salary, hundreds of staff had their appointment papers back dated by several months even up to a year all to cover personnel funds misappropriated.
Members of Staff were recklessly sacked for the minutest of issues including N200, N1500 etc, top sources in FMC were quoted.
During Angela’s reign in FMC Owerri, you cannot be promoted unless you belong to a clique of spies maintained in every unit by the former medical director. Experiences abound where people have been given names of people to spy on as a pre-condition for one favour or the other. In neighboring FMC Umuahia, there are thirty five assistant directors of nursing simply because they have merited it but in FMC Owerri promotion to that rank was done only once about five years ago and no more for any single reason even though the only remaining three are almost retiring. If the former CMD was sincere, why was a staff of the hospital who went to Abuja IPPIS office to correct his salary imbalances queried and summoned to a panel of Top Management Committee (TMC)? Before now when management was paying salaries, approximately a hundred and fifty million naira remains in the personnel account after payment of salaries every month, someone should help me calculate the total amount after twelve months, yet no returns goes to Abuja so where does it go. Angela Uwakwem was so insensitive to the plight of the staff that when Abuja started paying directly, she connived with them to ensure they were not adequately paid thus starving her staff all in an attempt to prevent staff from discovering their real salary which has been underpaid all along. The entire structures being created in the centre are direct federal government projects contained in the national budget so where do all these internally generated revenue (IGR) money go to. The newest ultra modern CT scan machine sells for a little above forty million, so how come N168 million was spent buying ctscan.
Staff of the institution have challenged her to tell the world how she vired N241 million from personnel cost to capital against the advice of the head of account (on condition of financial regulation) , who authorized it, clear fake document paraded as virement approval. Who runs the drug revolving fund?
The over N150 million she claimed was used to stock drugs was only known to her and her alone. Which pharmacy store stocked drugs worth half that amount and how much does the hospital owe drug suppliers for the pharmacy to be worth such huge amount? Sources queried.
In 2015, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), had allegedly invited Angela Uwakwem and other staff of the hospital to the commission, which they honoured, but Angela turned down the invitation.
Rochas has ignored these allegations, and Angela’s appointment leaves more questions on Okoroacha’s administration, a staff said.
Angela Uwakwem could not be reached for comments, at the time of this report.
