The staff and entire community of David Umahi University Teaching Hospital, Uburu, Ebonyi State on Tuesday embarked on a peaceful protest over what they described as unjust treatment, and wild and misguided allegations by some group against the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Uzoma Maryrose Agwu.
The protesters, numbering over 2000, marched around the premises, chanting songs and bearing placards with various inscriptions.
They expressed their solidarity with the CMD, who they described as a woman of proven track records in hospital management, integrity, and genuine commitment to public service.
Some of the placards read: We the DUFUTH Staff stand with our CMD; Our CMD has been unfairly accused; Our CMD has done so much with little resources; We say no to calls for suspension of the ongoing employment process: we are short staffed.
It was gathered that the solidarity march was a reaction against an earlier protest on Monday by a group of persons alleged to have been sponsored to malign the office and person of the CMD, calling for her removal from office over “unfounded” allegations of corruption and incompetence.
Reading out the communique containing the position of the hospital community, the Publicity Secretary of DUFUTH Staff Welfare Association and leader of the solidarity march, Jideofor Ibekwe, expressed dismay and shock over the earlier protest, describing it as both unwarranted and baseless.
Ibekwe maintained that the said protest against the CMD was a preconceived can of falsehood by the organisers to cast aspersion on the hardworking CMD, adding that she had spent days and nights within the hospital to nurture the institution from cradle since 2022.
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Part of the communique read: “The DUFUTH Staff Welfare Association, representing all staff engaged at the hospital, is shocked and dismayed by the unwarranted protests held on Monday, 24th March 2025 and the baseless allegations being circulated by the demonstrators and therefore wishes to state as follows:
“We frown at the allegations of criminal repurposing of facilities, and the ridiculous claims of removal of beds, foams, medications and generators from the teaching hospital, as well as of corruption and abuse of office, leveled against the CMD.
“There is no evidence to support this claim, either in picture, print or video and we challenge the accusers to prove us wrong with counter evidence.
“We wish to tell the world that since the inception of DUFUTH, the hospital has been guided by regulations, conventions, extant rules and approved laws guiding the conduct of federal teaching hospitals, under the tutelage of our parent Ministry, the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, while also consistently demonstrating readiness for clinical training of DUFUHS students with various batches of 300 level students already undergoing/completed training.
“That the demonstrators and their lackeys overreached themselves and showed lack of exposure and enlightenment by unilaterally ordering a sitting CMD appointed by the Presidency to immediately vacate her office and evacuate all her belongings from the hospital , without recourse to proper channels of routing petitions and grievances.
“That we strongly oppose the calls for the removal of the incumbent Chief Medical Director of DUFUTH, Professor Uzoma Agwu as the allegations against her is unsubstantiated and lacks merit.
“We also believe that no outsider can handle or protect DUFUTH like a daughter of Uburu land, who is a key stakeholder in the project and also an accomplished medical professional of note.”
The communique also condemned in strong terms oppositions against the ongoing staff recruitment in the hospital, describing it as a total lack of love for the growth of the health institution, which is currently short staffed.
It also condemned certain unguided onslaught on the hospital from some quarters, maintaining that such actions demonstrate gross negligence of the welfare of patients, which the hospital strives day and night to uphold.
It said: “That we strongly condemn the blockade mounted by the protesters on Monday 24th March, 2025 which demonstrated an alarming lack of empathy and concern for patients seeking medical attention.
“The blockade not only disrupted essential healthcare services but also prevented patients with emergency cases from accessing the hospital.
“Furthermore, relatives of patients who went out to source for personal effects were also denied access back into the hospital upon their return, without regard to the care and support to their loved ones.
“That we are deeply concerned by the protesters’ demand to cancel the forthcoming recruitment exercise at DUFUTH, particularly as the local community stands to benefit significantly from the employment.
“Furthermore, the hospital is in dire need of additional staff to bolster its workforce, and cancelling the recruitment exercise would only exacerbate the existing staffing shortages.”
While calling on the Federal Government to come to the aid of the hospital, especially in the area of electricity power to save it from huge cost of running a private power source, the staff maintained that the leadership of the hospital should be commended for its fiscal discipline in the hospital’s finances and operations as well as for the hospital’s prioritisation of the host community’s healthcare needs through various outreach programmes, including free medical care, free surgeries, screening and drugs to locals.
“That the entire staff of DUFUTH in one voice, maintains a strong vote of confidence on our Chief Medical Director, Professor Uzoma Agwu,” the communique added.
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