Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Hon. Suhuyini Sayibu Alhassan, has clarified that the dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer of the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH), Dr. Adam Atiku, by the Health Minister was sanctioned by the President.
This clarification comes in response to criticisms from the Minority Caucus, who argued that the Health Minister acted unilaterally and unlawfully. According to them, such a decision should have been made by the President in consultation with the Council of State.
Hon. Suhuyini emphasized that the CEO’s dismissal was due to the deteriorating conditions at the hospital, and not the confrontation that occurred between a staff member and the Minister. He further noted that no disciplinary measures have been taken against the staff involved in the incident.
“For clarity’s sake, the CEO was sacked because of the deteriorating conditions at the hospital. It has nothing to do with the altercation between the other doctor and the Minister,absolutely, it has nothing to do with what happened,” he stated.
The MP also expressed concerns about comments made by neurologist Dr. Valentine Akwulpwa, who had said the issue was being blown “out of proportion.” Suhuyini described the remark as insensitive and attributed it to a miscommunication, while encouraging the doctor to stay focused on his work.
“Absolutely not. I don’t think so. I don’t think he should be disciplined. He didn’t do anything. All he did which we, personally, found and advised him on was to make reference to the matter being blown out of proportion. I think that was just a miscommunication on his part, and I was hoping he would take that on board and continue with his hard work and his sacrifice. I do not think he did anything wrong at all,” he said.
Hon. Suhuyini Sayibu Alhassan accompanied the Health Minister on his unannounced visit to the Tamale Teaching Hospital, which he described in an X post as clearly underperforming due to long years of negligence or incompetence perhaps even predating the current leadership of the hospital.