The house of representatives has resolved to investigate allegations of ethnic discrimination in the recruitment of resident doctors at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Cross River state.
During plenary on Thursday, lawmakers asked the federal ministry of health to suspend Ikpeme Ikpeme, chief medical director (CMD) of the hospital, pending the outcome of the probe to prevent interference with the investigation.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Igariwey Enwo, who represents Afikpo north/south federal constituency of Ebonyi state and serves as deputy chairman of the house committee on appropriations.
Moving the motion, Enwo alleged that the UCTH CMD rejected a list of 17 newly graduated medical doctors posted to the hospital by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) for their compulsory one-year housemanship.
According to the lawmaker, the CMD allegedly declined the list on the grounds that 15 of the doctors were of Igbo extraction.
Enwo said appeals by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), officials of UCTH, and the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in Cross River state failed to change the decision.
He argued that the action violates provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibit discrimination based on ethnicity, tribe, or place of origin.
“Rejecting a duly approved list of doctors from the regulatory body on the basis of tribe or region amounts to a clear violation of the constitution,” Enwo said.
The lawmaker warned that the development could further worsen manpower shortages in Nigeria’s health sector, noting that the country has about 40,000 licensed doctors, far below the estimated 300,000 required to meet healthcare demands.
He added that such actions encourage brain drain and deepen ethnic divisions, posing risks to national unity and stability.
The motion was adopted following a voice vote conducted by Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house.
