The Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan chapter, has commenced an indefinite industrial action over the continued refusal to reinstate the hospital’s Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Dr Adeyinka Ishola.
The union directed its members to withdraw their services from Wednesday, September 16, 2026, following months of disagreement with the management of the tertiary health institution over Ishola’s disciplinary case.
At the centre of the dispute is the sale of a tricycle linked to the Pharmacy Department, an action which led to Ishola’s removal from office more than a year ago.
NUAHP is demanding the implementation of a recommendation reportedly issued by the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare after an independent investigation into the matter.
According to the union, the federal ministry’s investigative team did not establish that Ishola committed any fraudulent act in connection with the sale.
However, the investigation reportedly found that he failed to properly inform or obtain the involvement of UCH management before the transaction.
The ministry consequently recommended that Ishola be reprimanded and reinstated, rather than face the more severe disciplinary action earlier proposed by the hospital’s investigative panel.
The union’s position was made public by its chairman, Comrade Oladayo Olabampe, during a briefing in Ibadan.
Olabampe said the decision to embark on the strike was not taken suddenly, stressing that the union had attempted to resolve the matter through dialogue with the hospital authorities.
He said several meetings were held between the union and management, but the discussions failed to produce an outcome acceptable to the union.
According to him, NUAHP subsequently issued two ultimatums before deciding to escalate the matter through industrial action.
The union chairman also raised concerns about the manner in which the initial investigation conducted by the hospital was handled.
He said a representative of the union who participated in the proceedings as an observer reported that the panel appeared to have reached a position on Ishola’s fate before fully considering his defence.
The hospital’s investigative panel eventually recommended that Ishola be suspended, with the recommendation subsequently forwarded to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for consideration.
However, the matter took a different turn when the ministry initiated an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tricycle transaction.
Olabampe said the outcome of the federal investigation did not support the allegation that Ishola had engaged in fraud.
“The ministry, in its wisdom, sent a team of investigators to UCH to conduct an independent investigation.
“The panel found Dr Ishola not guilty of any fraudulent act but only guilty of not carrying the management along in the sale of the tricycle,” he said.
He added that the ministry, based on its findings, recommended that Ishola should be reprimanded and subsequently returned to his position.
The union said it was therefore dissatisfied with the decision of UCH management to allegedly disregard or delay the implementation of the recommendation.
“We are, however, surprised that the UCH management is not pleased with this outcome and has, for months, refused to implement the verdict of its supervisory ministry,” Olabampe said.
He further stated that NUAHP disagreed with the position attributed to UCH management that the recommendation from the Federal Ministry of Health was not final.
The union chairman said NUAHP was not claiming that Ishola did everything correctly, but maintained that the matter should be treated as an administrative breach rather than a criminal or fraudulent act.
“We hereby declare that Dr Adeyinka Ishola is not a thief, though he might have committed an administrative error by not carrying the management along,” he said.
Ishola’s own account of the circumstances surrounding the tricycle was also presented during the earlier investigation.
He was reportedly accused of selling the vehicle without the knowledge of UCH management.
In his defence, however, Ishola allegedly explained that the tricycle had initially been given to him as a personal gift by a pharmaceutical company seeking favourable patronage.
He reportedly asked the investigative panel to contact the company for clarification regarding the circumstances surrounding the donation.
According to his account, Ishola later voluntarily handed the tricycle over to the Pharmacy Department.
He subsequently decided to sell the vehicle after determining that its continued maintenance could become problematic because replacement parts for the particular model might be difficult to obtain.
He reportedly explained that the vehicle was a fabricated model and differed from the conventional tricycles commonly used for commercial transportation.
Another major issue in the investigation was the utilisation of the money generated from the sale.
Ishola reportedly told the panel that the transaction generated N1.3 million and that the money was channelled into the needs of the Pharmacy Department.
Among the expenses he reportedly listed were replacement trolley tyres, laptop batteries and office chairs.
He also maintained that the proceeds from the transaction were fully accounted for and that supporting documents were submitted to the investigative panel.
Despite these explanations and the subsequent federal investigation, the disagreement over his reinstatement has remained unresolved.
For NUAHP, the continued impasse has now become a labour dispute requiring stronger action.
Olabampe said the union had exhausted its preferred avenue of dialogue and was therefore compelled to mobilise its members for the indefinite strike.
“Having dialogued with the management on several occasions to no avail, we have hereby resolved to declare a trade dispute over this matter,” he said.
He added that the industrial action would remain in place until the union’s demand concerning Ishola’s reinstatement is addressed.
“After two series of ultimatums, we have decided to mobilise our members for an indefinite strike with effect from Wednesday, September 16, 2026. The strike shall continue until our demands are met,” Olabampe said.
The development could have implications for healthcare services at UCH, one of Nigeria’s major tertiary health institutions, as allied health professionals withdraw their services.
For now, the dispute remains centred on whether the recommendation arising from the Federal Ministry of Health’s investigation should be implemented by the hospital management and whether Ishola should return to his position after being removed from office for more than a year.