Professor Princewill Chike, the state Commissioner for Health, has been fired by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
The commissioner was fired for failing to obtain consent from the state government to host the preliminary session of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The governor called the commissioner’s decision to host the MDCN without the state government’s permission “very embarrassing.”
When the MDCN Chairman, Professor Abba Wasiri Hassan, paid Governor Wike a courtesy call at Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday, he announced Professor Chike’s dismissal.
The governor stated that the state government never requested that the preliminary session of the MDCN be held in Port Harcourt, and that the health commissioner made a mistake by scheduling the event at the same time that the state government is launching and flagging off projects.
“Frankly speaking, I have never seen an embarrassment like this in my life. Everybody knows that it is not my nature to bring people and you cannot attend to them or host. So, whoever has done this will suffer for it,” he said.
Wike also said the request by the MDCN that state governors should establish one tertiary hospital in each of their senatorial districts will not be realizable due to the paucity of funds.
“You have talked about siting tertiary hospital in each of the senatorial districts, you know it is not possible. That is why in Nigeria we have a problem. When you go for your budget, you put all kinds of projects. You know it cannot work. Where will you get the money to site this in each of the senatorial districts,” he said.
The governor explained that in a bid to improve citizens access to quality healthcare service delivery, his administration has embarked on the construction of some zonal hospitals in Bori, Degema, Etche, Ahoada and Omoku.