Professor Thomas Agan , the Chief Medical Director of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, UCTH, and the Chairman, Committee of Chief Medical Directors of Tertiary Hospitals in Nigeria, have been in office for about five years.
He was accused of using the staff salary to invest on MMM, which was why he didn’t pay
He denies it “The truth of the matter is that the UCTH does not owe staff salary. In October, November and December 2016, we had a shortfall which was a national challenge. In fact, the first two hospitals to be affected were the Federal Teaching Hospital, Irua and the Federal Medical Centre, Yenogoa.
He added “You are also aware that at the beginning of last year, the Federal Government reduced personnel allocation to Ministries, Departments and Agencies ,MDAs, by about 10 per cent and most of us who knew this told our staff that we were going to have shortfall and that they may not receive October salary. Some of them thought we were unserious. I was even blackmailed that I put their money in MMM, and I don’t know what MMM means. I won’t do that, you don’t touch people’s money as they have wives and husbands who depend on them.
Luckily, the Federal Government corrected the shortfall because money was sourced and paid to all MDAs that had shortfall, including teaching hospitals. So when people say we ate their money, going around blackmailing us that we put funds in MMM, I look at them and laugh because there is no truth in it. UCTH and most teaching hospitals across the country are not owing staff salary.
