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There’s an end in view to the lingering labour crisis at Federal University of Technology Akure Teaching Hospital(FUTATH as the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has stepped in to resolve the dispute.
This was disclosed on Wednesday in a letter signed by the letter signed by the Deputy Director, RLDO, Mr. Festus Igbinosun, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry.
In the letter, the Ministry informed the Chairman of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Ondo State Chapter, that a delegation from the Ministry would visit the Teaching Hospital on Friday, July 24, 2026, to address the issues surrounding the persistent disruption of services and other matters affecting the smooth running of the hospital.
The high-level delegation would have an interface with the leadership of Organised Labour in Ondo State with a view to restoring industrial harmony and ensuring the delivery of uninterrupted healthcare services at the hospital.
It was stated that the planned meeting was informed by a report submitted by the Teaching Hospital’s Management to the Health Ministry on the recurring industrial actions and its intention to provide a platform for constructive dialogue among all stakeholders.
The Ministry took the decision shortly after the successful completion of the Federal Government’s transition programme for the former UNIMED Teaching Hospital, Akure, by which it fully became the FUTA Teaching Hospital.
It is believed that the planned interface would provide an amicable and lasting resolution to the outstanding issues and strengthen industrial peace within the health institution.
As part of the transition process, the biometric capture of all eligible staff that was selected into the approved Nominal Roll was completed.
It was in fulfilment of the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed and concluded between the Ondo State Government and the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare on October 23, 2025.
It would be recalled that the staff absorption exercise was conducted strictly in line with Article 5 (5.1.3) of the MoU, which stipulates that only eligible officers of the old would be absorbed into the Federal Civil Service.
Part of the process included a comprehensive staff verification exercise which was conducted between December 8 and 12, 2025, by an inter-ministerial committee that was made up of officials from the Federal Ministries of Health and Finance, the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
After the verification, the list of eligible officers was further scrutinised using established Public Service guidelines, including age specification, qualifications, previous service records, the approved standard organisational structure for Federal Teaching Hospitals, and the prescribed clinical-to-non-clinical staff ratio.
It was gathered that only 265 members of staff of the UNIMED Teaching Hospital were ineligible for absorption into the Federal Civil Service and have been recommended to the Ondo State Government for redeployment into the State Civil Service.
The concluding part of the transition process is the biometric capture for payroll enrolment under the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which was conducted in Akure from June 8 to June 13, 2026.
A mop-up exercise was held in Abuja from July 9 to July 13, 2026, for officers who were unable to participate in the earlier capturing exercise.
On the transition, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, appreciated the Ondo State Government and the people of the state for their cooperation and support throughout the transition process.
He described the successful completion of the takeover as a product of mutual understanding and collaboration.
