A law firm has written a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission alleging embezzlement and misappropriation of funds against the Chief Medical Director of the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Prof. Ikpeme Ikpeme.
The CMD, who confirmed he has a copy of the petition, reacted to it in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
He dismissed the petition as “arrant nonsense”.
Ikpeme told the NAN on Tuesday in Calabar, the Cross River State capital: “I have a copy of the petition.
“I have seen it.
“The content is total rubbish.”
In the petition deposed to by one Nelson Louisa, the law firm also accused Ikpeme of nepotism and ethnic bias in recruitment, appointment and promotion at the teaching hospital.
It enjoined the anti-graft agencies to invite members of the hospital’s management board for proper clarification on various contracts executed by the Ikpeme administration.
The petitioner alleged also that Ikpeme was deliberately withholding payments due to contractors and that he was involved in multiple awards of same contracts and over-invoicing.
The petitioner cited many cases, one of which was the award of contract on the construction of a 1km road within the hospital.
He stated but that the length of the road was not up to half a kilometre.
“He re-awarded the same contract to a different construction company for N158 million whereas the road had been previously cleared and graded by a different contractor during the administration of his predecessor,” the petitioner wrote.
In his reaction, Prof. Ikpeme said he was prepared to defend himself as he was not involved in any of the allegations listed against him by the law firm.
