Crisis is presently looming in Osun State University Teaching Hospital (UNIOSUNTH), over purported plan by the state government to select some staffs of the hospital for promotion.
The purported promotion, if effected, would contravened the provision of civil service rules, Blueprint has gathered.
Findings revealed that the affected workers who are junior staffs, have been wrongly upgraded in 2013 by the former Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s administration, but the promotion was later reversed upon discovery by the authority.
The workers were said to have been promoted one year after their recruitment as non-medical staffs in 2012, a development that cost the state government huge amount.
It was gathered that their alleged ‘wrong’ promotion was occasioned by their relationship with politicians in the state.
However, in a gazette dated January 14, 2016, the purported wrong upgrading was reversed by the state government.
A copy of the 2016 gazette obtained by our correspondent reads in part: “it was also revealed that the junior staff that were recruited into junior staff categories to meet up with Mr. Governor’s approval were subsequently upgraded in less than one year of their employment before confirmation. This has again increased the monthly wage bill by N15,998,924.61.”
It was recommended that the staff that have been unlawfully upgraded should be reverted to their former grades and follow the state’s civil service rules for advancement/promotion.
“The officers of the hospital who knowingly carried out the exercise should be disciplined. The Office of Human Resources, Establishments and Capacity Development is also charged to assist in correcting this anomaly, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital (now UNIOSUNTH) Management Boards to take action on discipline of the errant officers of the hospital,” the gazette added.
However, it was gathered that plans are ongoing to approve another ‘wrong promotion’ to the same workers in the hospital.
A source who pleaded anonymity told our correspondent that the alleged workers have been upgraded this year with their letter of upgrading backdated to November 2020.
According to findings, plans have been perfected to give the alleged workers two grade level of promotion before the end of the year. This, it was gathered was at the expense of the old staffs of the hospital whom promotions have been pending for several years.
This plan, according to investigation, had caused internal wrangling as some senior staffs who are due for promotion are agitating for general promotion instead of segmented ones.
According to the source, the issue of new double promotion for these selected people could not only cause internal wrangling among the staff, but will cause additional financial burden to the state government.
The source noted that till today, the 30th half salary of some categories of Osun workers is still left unpaid.
She noted that the promotion will also be violation of public service rule which was the basis the 2016 ‘wrong promotion’ was reversed.
When contacted, the spokesperson of the hospital, Mr. Ayodele Adeyemo, said he was not aware of the gazette, noting that every step taken by the teaching hospital has government support.
He said, “I just want to tell you that whatever is done here is backed up by government knowledge and presently, there is nothing like promotion exercise.”
