LASUTH speaks on report President Tinubu owns its medical laboratory

The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) has debunked rumours that the Bola Tinubu Health and Diagnostic Centre (BTHDC) sited in the hospital is owned by President Bola Tinubu. 

The Chief Medical Director (CMD), LASUTH, Prof. Tokunbo Fabamwo, said this in a statement on Saturday in Lagos. 

Fabamwo said that the clarification was necessary as some social media posts had linked the president to the facility ownership with allegations that human resources practices in the facility are anti Yoruba. 

“To start with, the Nigerian president doesn’t own the facility. It is a public-private venture with a memorandum of understanding  signed by private entrepreneurs with the Lagos State Ministries of Health and Justice. 

“It happens to be named after the Nigerian president but hey, so are so many other facilities named after eminent Nigerians who do not necessarily own them.

“The allegation of anti Yoruba practices is as ludicrous as they come. It does not and cannot happen.  

“The headship of this radiological and laboratory facility as well as the principal officers are all Yorubas.  

“Needless to say that though competence, knowledge and skills are paramount in recruiting manpower to a high tech facility like that, there is no deliberate policy against Yorubas,” he said.

Fabamwo noted that the  involvement of LASUTH in the facility did  not extend beyond providing premises and a building for its operations, as well as the patient load. 

“Although LASUTH has an oversight function on the clinical operations of the facility, it does not nor is it even expected to get involved in the recruitment processes. 

“However,  that said, any blatant policy against Yorubas would definitely have attracted the attention of LASUTH management and would have been characteristically dealt with in a decisive manner,” he said. 

The CMD advised the public to disregard the writer of the fictional piece, noting that the real objective of publishing the odious piece needs to be subjected to scrutiny.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that BTHDC is a public-private partnership between PPC Ltd. and Lagos State Government. 

PPC Ltd is affiliated to Philips Medical System (PMS), a global leader in providing clinical management and diagnostic technology, and has been successful in transferring latest technology to the healthcare industry in Nigeria.