The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State council on Sunday appealed to the Federal Government of Nigeria, to with immediate effect, save the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan by providing it with enough funding to cater for the ravaging Coronavirus also known as COVID-19.
NUJ in a statement signed by its Chairman, Comrade Ademola Babalola and Secretary, Sola Oladapo, said that the demand became imperative due to a statement credited to the hospital Chief Medical Director (CMD), Abiodun Otegbayo who recently solicited for funds for the hospital from prominent Nigerians to tackle the Coronavirus menace.
The union in the statement also frowned at recent developments at the foremost teaching hospital in Nigeria, with confirmed four cases among its board and management.
The hospital management confirmed that the CMD,Provost, College of Medicine and his Deputy also tested positive.
The fourth is the chairman of the board who had allegedly tested positive for the virus.
The union in the statement wondered why due diligence was not done to ascertain the condition of all attendees at the meeting.
The union also expressed concern on why the meeting had to hold despite the ongoing efforts to control COVID-19 spread in the state.
According to the NUJ, the CMD, despite his knowledge of his exposure to a suspected case still went ahead granting interviews to journalists without warning them of his vulnerability.
The union viewed this act “as irresponsible and avoidable.”
NUJ, therefore, called on the Federal Government to stop paying lip services to the hospital.
It tasked the government to devise means of specially funding the UCH to prepare adequately for the pandemic.
“The reason to call for better funding of the UCH stemmed from the recent statement of the CMD, soliciting for funds from well-meaning Nigerians to help the hospital with consumables and other medical necessities to fight the virus.
“The Federal Government must act very fast before things snowball out of control”.
