… Uncovers payroll fraud
PORT HARCOURT — The University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH) has suspended the salaries of 1,000 workers following the discovery of major irregularities in its payroll system after a comprehensive staff audit exercise.
The Chief Medical Director, Prof. Chituru Orluwene, disclosed this while briefing journalists to mark his first 100 days in office, revealing that the verification exercise exposed a wide gap between staff on the payroll and those physically present in the hospital.
According to him, the hospital’s payroll contained about 4,000 names, but only about 2,000 workers were physically verified as active staff on the ground.
He explained that the audit was initiated shortly after he assumed office as the 8th Chief Medical Director, following concerns over discrepancies in staff records and operational efficiency.
“When we resumed, we found 4,000 staff on the payroll, but 2,000 of them were on the ground. Following this, we initiated a verification exercise,” he said.
Prof. Orluwene confirmed that, as part of the ongoing clean-up, salaries of 1,000 workers had been stopped, while investigations into remaining cases were ongoing.
He added that the report from the exercise would be forwarded to the Federal Government for further action, including possible recruitment to address genuine manpower needs in the hospital.
The CMD also said the reforms were aimed at blocking revenue leakages in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting that hospital and mortuary charges had been reviewed downward.
He announced the introduction of an in-patient feeding scheme, under which patients would be charged ₦5,000 daily for three-square meals.
On sanitation, Orluwene said the hospital had tackled a severe mosquito infestation traced to broken underground pipes and blocked soakaway systems, which previously required the evacuation of about 40 truckloads of waste.
He said the intervention had significantly improved hygiene conditions within the facility, stressing that his administration is focused on practical reforms rather than rhetoric.