Akwa Ibom State Government has declared two medical doctors wanted for abdicating their duty post after being trained for eight years.
Addressing a press conference in Uyo on Monday, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Ekem Emmanuel John, named the doctors as Dr Uduakabasi Ita, a Consultant Radiologist, and Dr Mfonobong George Bassey, a Consultant Hematologist, staff of the state Ministry of Health.
The commissioner who lamented that the two doctors left their duty post for greener pastures without first serving the state to cover the cost of their training by the state government.
He said, “The state government has repeatedly said any medical personnel it trains is bound to first serve the state to cover the cost of the training before they would be allowed to leave for greener pastures.”
The commissioner said the state government gave the doctors two options: to either resume at their duty posts in the state civil service, or refund all resources spent on their training by the state government.
“The Ministry of Health has declared them wanted. We will stop their salaries, track them until we find them. Any country they go to, we will go to the Medical and Dental Council of that country and we will stop them.
“It is in their best interest to immediately report to the Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Health and we would not be held liable once the Medical and Dental Council begins to sit.
“Now that they’ve not been invited and there is no issue, we ask that their families reach out to them to immediately report to the ministry of health,” he stated.
The Commissioner for Health stated that henceforth, all medical officers trained by the state government must serve out the agreed number of years in the state before being allowed to resign.
He insisted that the government will not allow its’s best hands to exit service for ‘greener pastures’ without first serving Akwa Ibom people whose resources were deployed for their training.
