Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule has directed the immediate dismissal and prosecution of hospital staff at Umaisha Hospital in Toto Local Government Area caught selling medical equipment and relief items donated to the facility.
The Governor gave the directive on Wednesday morning while speaking at the commissioning of ACReSAL heavy-duty equipment in Lafia.
The issue came to light on Monday after a video circulated on social media. In the video, a member of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Sa’ad Ibrahim Abdullahi, demanded explanations from the management of Umaisha Hospital over the whereabouts of items he said he personally donated to the facility.
Abdullahi, who represents the Umaisha/Ugya constituency, said 50 fans, 50 orthopaedic mattresses and other items he donated to the clinic were sold by hospital staff.
Governor Sule condemned the act and directed the Commissioner for Health to investigate.
“I have already asked the honorable commissioner for health to investigate, to dismiss and fire the hell out of them, and after that, to prosecute them. Because firing them to go free will not give us peace of mind until we prosecute them for this inhuman attitude of theirs, to actually allow their people to die when they are enjoying the little money they sold the mattress for. We cannot tolerate that.”
The Governor also instructed the Head of Service and the Chairman of the State Civil Service Commission to ensure those found culpable are dismissed and prosecuted.
He stressed that competence alone is not enough in public service, adding that honesty and patriotism are also required, especially in the health sector.
