…Say move, a collaborative gesture.
The University of Medical Sciences (UNIMED), Ondo State, at the weekend dismissed the insinuation that the ceding of the institution’s teaching hospital, Akure complex, to the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), will in any way affect its medical programmes.
While stressing that the transfer of the complex to FUTA by Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa will not pulverise the institution, UNIMED emphasised that the gesture was made to jumpstart the newly approved Federal College of Medicine and Teaching Hospital for FUTA.
Aiyedatiwa had, during the State Executive Council meeting, approved the transfer of the Akure complex of UNIMEDTH to FUTA following President Bola Tinubu’s approval for FUTA to establish its own medical college.
With the transfer, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Banji Ajaka, stated that the handover would involve a comprehensive transfer of assets and human resources, adding that the existing members of staff at the hospital would be retained under the new federal management.
According to UNIMED in a statement issued by its Public Relations Officer, Isaac Oluyi, UNIMED, as the premier university of medical sciences, has facilities that can adequately cater to the needs of its students at the teaching hospital in Ondo City, headquarters of the Ondo West Local Council Area of the state.
Oluyi said, “Following the fears, insinuations, and permutations that have trailed the purported transfer of the UNIMED Teaching Hospital Complex at Akure to FUTA regarding the continued existence of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo, as an independent entity, we invite the public to note that the ceding of the UNIMED Teaching Hospital, Akure branch, to FUTA will not adversely affect UNIMED, Ondo.
“In fact, it is a gesture meant to kick-start the medical science programmes at FUTA while the university gets its main teaching hospital ready.
“UNIMED, as a rapidly developing medical school, has facilities that can adequately cater to the needs of its students at the Teaching Hospital in Ondo. UNIMED believes that collaboration and cooperation are necessary for a 21st-century university to thrive.
“So, while we maximise the facilities we have in Ondo, we will continue to collaborate with relevant institutions locally and internationally to deliver the best medical and health sciences education.
“The ceding of a branch of the Teaching Hospital is not an attempt to decimate UNIMED. The Governor, Hon. (Dr.) Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, is committed to the growth of UNIMED, and he has demonstrated this through his inspiring leadership and unwavering financial support for our institution.
“The new leadership of the University, under the cerebral Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, Professor Ebunoluwa Adejuyigbe, will continue to work with the government of Ondo State to ensure that UNIMED continues to deliver on its mandate.
“In light of the above, we want to reiterate that UNIMED has come to stay. It is the pride of the state, and the government keeps supporting the institution to remain an excellent university in teaching, research, and community service.”
