Health workers at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have commenced an indefinite strike over the alleged refusal of the hospital management to reinstate the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Dr Adeyinka Ishola.
The industrial action, declared by the University College Hospital chapter of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), began on Wednesday, September 16, 2026.
The union said it took the decision after several attempts to resolve the dispute through dialogue reportedly failed.
At the centre of the disagreement is the sale of a tricycle donated to the hospital’s Pharmacy Department and the disciplinary action subsequently taken against Ishola.
NUAHP Chairman, Oladayo Olabampe, said the union was demanding the implementation of the recommendation of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, which he said called for Ishola to be reprimanded and reinstated.
Olabampe said an initial investigation by UCH had recommended disciplinary action against Ishola, with the matter subsequently forwarded to the ministry.
According to him, the ministry constituted an independent investigative team which reached a different conclusion from the hospital’s earlier investigation.
“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 management along in the sale of the tricycle,” he said.
He added that the ministry subsequently recommended that Ishola be reprimanded and reinstated rather than dismissed.
Olabampe accused the hospital management of refusing to implement the ministry’s recommendation despite its supervisory role.
He said the union also disagreed with the position attributed to the management that the ministry’s decision was not final.
The union chairman further defended Ishola against allegations of fraud, saying the issue amounted to an administrative error rather than theft.
“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,” Olabampe said.
He said the union had issued two ultimatums and held several meetings with management without resolving the matter.
“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.
The union said the strike would continue indefinitely until its demands were met.
Ishola was removed from office more than a year ago following an allegation that he sold the tricycle without the knowledge of UCH management.
The tricycle was reportedly donated by a pharmaceutical company. Ishola was said to have told the hospital’s investigative panel that the item was initially given to him as a personal gift before he handed it over to the Pharmacy Department.
He reportedly explained that the tricycle was later sold after he became concerned about the difficulty of maintaining it because it was a fabricated model whose spare parts might not be readily available.
Ishola reportedly said the N1.3 million proceeds from the sale were used for departmental needs, including replacing trolley tyres and laptop batteries and providing office chairs.
He was also said to have presented documents to the investigative panel to account for how the proceeds were spent.
The dispute has continued over the ownership and disposal of the tricycle, with the hospital management reportedly maintaining that the item became hospital property after it was handed over to the Pharmacy Department.
The latest strike is coming months after another labour dispute at UCH. In March 2026, workers under the Council of UCH Union Leaders embarked on a five-day warning strike over alleged electricity rationing at the hospital.
The indefinite industrial action could affect services at the tertiary health institution, which serves as a major referral and training centre in the region.
