Nigeria House Urges Suspension of UCTH CMD

The Nigeria===House of Representatives (Nigeria) has called for the immediate suspension of Prof Ikpeme Ikpeme, the Chief Medical Director of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, over allegations of ethnic discrimination. Prof Ikpeme Ikpeme is accused of rejecting 17 newly graduated medical doctors posted by the Nigeria===Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for mandatory housemanship, with 15 of them being of Igbo extraction. This alleged action has drawn criticism from professional bodies like the National Association of Resident Doctors and the Nigerian Medical Association, who intervened without success. Lawmakers, led by Iduma Igariwey Enwo, argue that Prof Ikpeme Ikpeme's conduct violates the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria and worsens the country's critical healthcare manpower deficit, potentially encouraging brain drain and fracturing ethnic fault lines. The Nigeria===House of Representatives (Nigeria) has mandated its Committee on Health Institutions to investigate the allegations and report back within four weeks.