A Benin City-based group, Vanguard Anti-corruption Watch, yesterday berated the list of nominees to the boards of Federal Teaching Hospitals and Medical Centres by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
In a statement issued in Benin City by its secretary, Barrister Valentine Osayuki, the group alleged that one of the nominees, Dr Gabriel Ogbebor, and four others “are currently being prosecuted for corruption charges by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”
Osayuki wondered why “a government that prides itself on zero tolerance for corruption will accept a person undergoing corruption prosecution for appointment into a Federal Medical Board.”
The statement read in part: “It is common knowledge that one Dr. Gabriel Ogbebor, along with Dr. Emmanuel Ighodaro, Dr. Quincy Atohengbe, Dr. Anthony Owolabi and Dr. Raymond Ogieva who work and live in Edo state are currently facing criminal prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a Benin City High Court.
“We are, however, surprised that the same doctor (Gabriel Ogbebor) has been listed for appointment to a federal board to represent the Nigerian Medical Association.
“One wonders if the NMA has lost its sense of morality and modesty in spite of the huge confidence reposed on them by the public. It is the last expectation to have such a character nominated to a board of that repute.”
Continuing, it read: “One is left to wonder if the same federal government under the incorruptible Muhammadu Buhari will in one breath (through her agency) indict someone for corruption and in another breath, appoint the same person to undertake such a sensitive responsibility. The paradox is simply irreconcilable.”
