President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Ikpeme Ikpeme as the new Chief Medical Director (CMD) for the troubled University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Cross River State.
According to a press statement by the spokesperson of the Federal Ministry of Health, Boade Akinola, Mr Ikpeme’s appointment will take effect from April 16.
Before his appointment, Mr Ikpeme, a professor and orthopaedic surgeon at UCTH, had tussled for the same position in 2010 but did not get it.
The position was given to the outgoing CMD, Thomas Agan, who is ending his eight years tenure in office
The appointment is coming after months of a tussle for the position by many contestants.
Prior to Mr Ikpeme’s appointment, there had been a clamour that the next CMD for the institution should be appointed from the central part of the state.
According to The Tide investigation forum, the Southern Senatorial District Forum in Cross River had said the next CMD for the institution should come from the central part of the state.
The forum had made the call following the submission of the names of successful interviewees for the job to the presidency.
The president of the forum, Peter Duke, had wanted the presidency to consider another candidate, Edet Ikpi, from Cross River Central, for the position.
He explained that the southern senatorial district had held the position for 17 years while the central and northern district had held the position for eight years respectively.
However, based on the latest appointment, the presidency apparently settled for Mr Ikpeme, who is reportedly from the southern part of the state.
UCTH is one of the second generation tertiary hospitals. It was built to serve Cross River State and its environs and train medical doctors and paramedics for the country.
Unfortunately, the institution has been steeped in controversy and power tussle over the years.