Enugu Stakeholders Condemn Re-assignment Of former Minister of State for Health, Dr Alausa, To Education Ministry, Despite Alleged Involvement In Examination Scandal

...As former Minister of Women Affairs Thank President Tinubu for giving her the opportunity to serve the country

Stakeholders in Enugu State have condemned the re-assignment of the former Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa as minister of education, after he was accused of allegedly falsifying the promotion result of candidates in his former ministry.
Alausa was alleged to have been involved in the interview scandal: by trying to replace the name of the candidate who passed the promotion interview for the  Chief Medical Director, Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu with name of the candidate who failed the examination.
He had reportedly tried to impose his preferred candidate, Dr Ngozichukwu Unaogu as the director of the hospital, against Dr. Andrew Orovwigbo, after Dr Unaogu had failed the examination interview.
Both Oroveigbo and Unaogu were interviewed for the position by a panel of eight persons led by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Daju Kachollom on July 11, 2024.
The core professional  examination questions were reportedly drafted for the Health Ministry by the former Chief Medical Director, CMD, Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi and chairman, Faculty of Psychiatry, National Post- Graduate Medical College of Nigeria and current Chief Examinar of same college, Dr Abdullahi Ibrahim.
Other members of the panel included a representative of the Federal Character Commission, FCC, Hon. Rev. Ukadike Ibeabuchi, as well as other directors in the ministry including Dr. Jimoh Salaudeen, Tetshoma T. Dafeta, Dr Aderemi Azeez, Dr. Obiajulu Ugbo,  Rasimatu U. Bello and Igwenagu Ndidi Chathrine, PhD; all of who signed the result sheet, showing that Dr. Orovwigbo scored 63.3 percent while Dr Unaogu scored 59.2 percent.
According to the Civil Service Rule, 60 percent is the pass mark for any examination conducted in the Federal Civil Service, while anything less than 60 percent is failure, hence the preferred candidate of the minister of state, Dr Unaogu failed, having scored less than 60 percent.
The two candidates had signed attestations indicating that the exercise was free and fair and devoid of any manipulations, after the interview.
Documents sighted by the Southeast Post online newspaper, showed that after the interview and the recommendations of Dr Orovwogbo for the directorship position by the panel, the minister of state turned the situation upside down, and recommended Dr Unaogu, who failed the written examination for the position, after accusing the panel members of alleged bias, without any shred of evidence.
It was learnt that the then Minister of State, Dr Alausa, had earlier, uniletarily disqualified two candidates, who are indigenous people of Enugu State:  Dr Nichodemus Obayi of Dr Alex Ekwueme University Teaching Hospital, and Prof Onyebueke from Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, ESUTH, who had applied for the position, to pave the way for his preferred candidate, Dr Unaogu.
However, reacting to the development, Barrister Ray Nnaji, described Alausa's action as scandalous, and urged President Bola Tinubu to sanction the minister. 
Other stakeholders who spoke over Dr Alausa reassignment as the substantive ministry of Education wondered why the medical doctor should be moved to the education sector of all places.
"We are in a country of absurdities. Why should Dr Alausa be moved to the Ministry of Education where more standard is expected to be maintained. This is a cusmetic cabinet reshuffle.
"Anything can happen in this country. Alausa's movement from health to education is indication that Tinubu's government is all about connection; being connected to the right persons and not about what you know. 
"Dr Alausa said that he went to school in Atlanta. Was it what they taught him there?", they added.
Meanwhile, various health organisations in.the Neuropsychiatric Hospital have vowed to resist the high- handedness of the minister of state, noting that the position of director of health institutions must be insulated from partisan political considerations for the country to move forward.
Meanwhile, the former, Women’s Affairs Minister, Kennedy Ohanenye, has expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for giving her the opportunity to serve the country in that capacity.
Barr. Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, recently sacked from her position as Minister of Women Affairs by President Tinubu, responded to her removal with a letter expressing gratitude and unwavering commitment to Nigeria.
In a post on her X handle, Ohanenye conveyed her appreciation to President Tinubu for granting her the opportunity to serve in the Federal Executive Council, describing it as an honour to contribute to the nation’s development.
“I write to express my sincere gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the opportunity to serve as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It has been an honor and a privilege to contribute to the development of our Nation,” she noted.