Setting the Record Straight: Dayo Israel Media Office Responds to False Allegations of misconduct at FMC Abeokuta

Setting the Record Straight: Dayo Israel Media Office Responds to False Allegations of misconduct at FMC Abeokuta

The Media Office of Hon Dayo Israel, Chairman of the Board of Management of the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta, wishes to issue a formal rejoinder regarding the recent publication in Blueprint, thenewsville and other related media reports alleging financial mismanagement and improper conduct on the part of Dr Dayo Israel. These allegations are wholly false, deeply misleading, and appear to have been orchestrated by individuals who have long resisted reform and transparency within the institution. It is imperative to set the record straight with a clear presentation of facts, context, and chronology of actions taken under the leadership of Dr Israel.

Since his appointment as Board Chairman, Dr Israel has consistently upheld his statutory mandate, providing strategic direction, fiscal oversight, and governance guidance in accordance with the Federal Medical Centre Establishment Act. At no time has Dr Israel had access to, or exercised control over, any financial accounts of FMC Abeokuta or its business arm, FMCA Consult. The repeated claims suggesting he mismanaged funds or exercised unilateral control over finances are therefore baseless. Dr Israel is not a signatory on any accounts, and he has never handled the day-to-day funds of either the Centre or its consult. These facts are not matters of opinion, but verifiable evidence that can be substantiated by official financial records and board minutes.

Upon assuming office, Dr Israel immediately set about addressing systemic challenges that had festered for years. The FMCA Consult Ltd had existed for more than seven years without an independent audit, proper corporate governance, a single board meeting or declaration of dividends to FMC Abeokuta, despite the Centre being its sole shareholder.

Board records confirm that prior to the resumption of Dr Israel’s tenure, FMCA Consult Ltd board/shareholder with the Corporate Affairs Commission was dominated by former officials who were no longer in active service of the Centre,and by the time the decision to overhaul the Consult board was taken in June, even the former Medical Director, Prof Musa Olomu, and the Director of Finance, who were shareholders had now retired. The consult’s operations were opaque, and its finances unaccounted for, creating opportunities for exploitation by vested interests. Recognizing this, Dr Israel oversaw a comprehensive restructuring, and with the resolution of the board appointed a professional interim management team led by an experienced former Shell Petroleum manager. Within three months, the consult presented its first audited financial report to the Board, established regular monthly reporting, and implemented transparent business processes, ensuring that all shares and dividends are held in trust for FMC Abeokuta. This is not only proper governance, but also a restoration of accountability and the proper exercise of fiduciary oversight.

The allegations against Dr Israel are closely linked to the lackeys of Prof Musa Olomu, individuals who thrived under a system of unaccountable authority, cronyism, and obstruction. These officials, many of them still in the service of the center, have repeatedly attempted to undermine the Board’s authority, resist reform, and protect personal interests that conflict with the statutory mandate of FMC Abeokuta. These individuals had grown accustomed to operating with minimal oversight, enriching themselves while bypassing institutional accountability. It is from this context that petitions and media statements have been launched, seeking to mischaracterize legitimate board actions as misconduct. The record shows that the Board has acted entirely within its statutory powers, with all major decisions documented and ratified by board members, including the former/acting/and now substantive Medical Directors, Head of Clinical Services, Director of Administration, and the Ogun State Commissioner of Health – to whom we are grateful for her active commitment on the board. These meetings are properly convened, attended, and recorded, leaving no room for the false claims that the Board operates as a one-man entity.

For the avoidance of doubt, the allegations circulating in the media are not only false but orchestrated by individuals desperately attempting to shield Prof. Olomu’s long, well-documented history of administrative abuse, financial irregularities, and ethical violations. It is public knowledge that Prof. Olomu left behind a trail of corruption allegations, including alleged falsification of age records to elongate his tenure, multiple procurement breaches that are being investigated by the National Assembly, and the alleged acquisition of refurbished and substandard medical equipment such as the controversial used CT scan machine that was imported and installed at FMC Abeokuta at full-price rates despite clear evidence it was not new. These and several others form part of the ongoing investigations by EFCC, ICPC, the Special Fraud Unit, the House Committees on Health, Public Procurement, and the Special Committee reviewing intervention funds from 2015 to date.

Investigations under Dr Israel’s leadership have uncovered systemic distortions from the previous administration. Diesel consumption had been grossly exaggerated; while the former MD reported fifty-two million naira monthly diesel expenses, actual records showed a maximum of twenty-five million naira, consistent with storage capacity of 15,000litre. Alleged debts to private individuals, including the Afonja family, were unfounded, with equipment properly documented at the ministry as donations. Prof Olomu also attempted to divert Centre funds to personal projects, including the establishment of the Federal University of Medicine and Medical Sciences (FUMMSA), seeking to use FMC resources for personal career advancement – his dream of becoming the VC of FUMMSA. Before the end of his tenure, he handed over the C of O and other document of the land jointly owned by FMC Abeokuta (Ministry of Health) and FUMMSA (Ministry of Education), for which he spent millions of FMCA funds to acquire, to the Authority of FUMMSA in his quest to become Deputy Vice Chancellor. Now FMCA is being given condition that we can only access our portion of the land, only if we become a Teaching Hospital, a land that was fully procured by FMCA Funds.

This same pattern of misconduct extended to his allies, including his now bedridden surrogate, who allegedly played a central role in facilitating opaque procurements, signing questionable internal approvals, and managing critical operational units without transparency. This same individual, who has been repeatedly linked to manipulation of document trails, and irregular payments tied to FMCA Consult, has been one of the most vocal promoters of these recent false allegations, an expected behaviour from someone whose access to the Centre’s financial leakages has now been blocked.

Dr Israel’s initial visits to the Centre were focused on fact-finding and reform. Offers of cash or gifts to influence his oversight when he was appointed were firmly declined. On the first of his arrival, he embarked on a midnight visit to assess the true state of the center, refusing to be tele-guided by the former Medical Director. It was this action that irked the former MD and began his war of attrition against the board chairman.

Allegations about the cost of his hotel accomodation and that of his fact finding delegation during his first visit is malicious; accommodations were provided by the former MD as part of standard protocol. Accommodation at Park Inn, which has been falsely criticized as extravagant, was provided at the discretion of the former MD. He willingly offered the best of hotel in town – The Park Inn – to sway Dr Israel’s loyalty and only cried foul when he realised Dr Israel wouldn’t play ball. For all it’s worth, it was he who made all the reservations and payment, the chairman was not responsible for the bookings or aware of the cost of the rooms. He didn’t expect us to look into his dealings.

Dr Israel’s tenure has been marked by proactive interventions to strengthen institutional governance. He has prioritized strategic planning, the training and development of staff, and the restructuring of both clinical and business arms of the Centre. Recognizing the decades-long absence of strategic direction, the Board ensured that the 2026 budget allocated resources for retreats, capacity building, and long-term planning. Infrastructure projects have been re-evaluated to ensure fiscal responsibility, with vertical elevation policies introduced to maximize limited land space at the Idiaba campus, seeing we don’t have access to our permanent site except we become a Teaching Hospital.

Resources have been carefully managed so that Internally Generated Revenue is used primarily for essential hospital needs, including the drug revolving fund, rather than for major construction, which is funded from appropriations. These reforms are consistent with best practices and demonstrate a commitment to sustainability, efficiency, and the welfare of both patients and staff. How can a man who oversaw the board decision that the internally generated revenue must not be used for capital projects as formerly embarked upon by the previous administration which led to lots of debt to vendors, a decision that has now freed up funds for patient centred expenses at the center, be accused of financial impropriety.

During his initial visit to FMC Abeokuta, Dr Israel personally oversaw fact-finding audits and assessments of the Centre’s operations. Contrary to the claims of the media reports, he did not rely on influence, inducements, or gifts, and he consistently resisted attempts to compromise his independence. It was through these independent audits that discrepancies in previously reported expenditures, including diesel consumption and operational costs, were uncovered. These audits revealed overstatements in expenditure, unreported debts, and mismanagement under Prof Musa Olomu and his allies.

The former Medical Director’s administration was characterized by systemic failures, including the misuse of Internally Generated Revenue, neglect of critical infrastructure, poor staff welfare, and obstruction of oversight. He routinely circumvented Board directives, monopolized decision making, and promoted loyalists while sidelining competent staff like he tried to do in the case of the appointment of a substantive Director of Administration where he tried to appoint the 6th in line above the next in line until he was resisted by the Minister of State for Health, before the appointment of the board. Investigations by multiple oversight agencies, including the EFCC, ICPC, SFU, the Office of the SGF, and committees of the National Assembly, are ongoing and highlight the severity of mismanagement and ethical breaches during his tenure. It is in this context that Dr Israel’s reforms have encountered resistance, and it is this resistance that underlies the false allegations now circulating in the media.

It is also necessary to clarify that the FMCA Consult allegations, which have been widely reported, have no connection to Dr Israel’s personal actions or management. The Board’s restructuring and professionalization of the Consult directly threatened entrenched interests and previously opaque practices. The claims of unilateral removal of directors or supposed interference are false and ignore the statutory powers of the Board to act in the best interest of its sole shareholder, FMC Abeokuta. All shares and dividends of the Consult are held in trust for the Centre, and no member of the Board or interim management receives any personal benefit.

The recent appointment of a substantive Medical Director represents a clear break from the mismanagement of Prof Musa Olomu’s era. Dr Israel is committed to working closely with the new MD to implement reforms and restore proper governance. Loyalists of the former MD continue to interfere, attempting to manipulate the new MD in the same way they controlled Prof Musa, but the Board remains resolute in preforming its oversight responsibilities and safeguarding FMC Abeokuta from undue influence.

Dr Israel’s actions have been guided by transparency, legality, and the principles of accountability. The restructuring of the Centre and the Consult, the introduction of proper financial reporting, the prioritization of staff training, and the correction of long-standing operational inefficiencies are all testament to a commitment to restoring institutional integrity.

The claim in the Blueprint article that the Board Chairman demanded “official car worth 300million” is another deliberate falsehood being circulated by the same individuals who benefitted from the former MD’s schemes. The facts are simple and verifiable.

During his visit to the board chairman at the IBB Golf Club, where he was brandishing dollars to the chairman, for which the chairman refused to be enticed, he mentioned there was a provision in the 2025 budget for official vehicle under the ERGP25157610 budget code and he would make the same vehicle available for the use of the board chairman, as a way of currying his favours. According to him, It was not a new request, nor an additional cost to the Centre.

Ironically, the same Prof. Musa who now accuses the Chairman of demanding a car personally kept three official FMC vehicles for his own use, including a latest Toyota Hilux, an SUV, and a salon car, yet turned around to weaponize the vehicle matter as a tool of blackmail once he realized his irregularities were being exposed.

Throughout his engagements in Abeokuta and till today January 2025, Dr Israel uses his personal vehicles for all official movements because the hospital was consistently renting vehicles even to receive him and, at one point, to transport the Honourable Minister during an official visit.

After an incident in which his personal Range Rover Vogue was nearly destroyed by a truck during an inspection trip to the Sagamu PHC annex, he informed the Centre that subsequent trips should follow standard protocol, and he should be picked up from the airport using the Centre’s logistics.

In response, the Centre, under the former MD, sent a rented, poorly maintained, Ladipo upgraded old GX460. Barely five minutes away from the airport, that vehicle caught fire and exploded at Maryland Bus Stop, with Hon. Israel seated in the front passenger seat. We have the video. It was only by divine intervention that tragedy was averted. From that moment, he reverted permanently to using his own vehicles for safety reasons till today.

The attempt to twist these events into a narrative of “demanding expensive cars” is not only dishonest but shameless, especially coming from those who enjoyed unrestricted use of multiple official vehicles while the institution they led was drowning in debt, procurement scandals, inflated diesel claims, and operational decay.

The Media Office of Dr Dayo Israel categorically rejects any claim of misconduct, mismanagement, or corruption against Dr Israel and affirms that these allegations are politically motivated, arising from the frustration of those whose corrupt practices have been exposed and curtailed.

In conclusion, Dr Israel remains fully committed to strengthening governance, enhancing operational efficiency, and ensuring that FMC Abeokuta fulfills its mandate as the premier federal tertiary health institution and referral center in Ogun State. The Board will continue to act decisively, transparently, and within the law to ensure that the institution is managed in accordance with best practices and serves the interests of staff, patients, and the public. Any attempt to distort the truth or misrepresent Dr Israel’s record will be met with firm rebuttals, and the Media Office remains prepared to provide all necessary evidence and documentation to defend the integrity of the Board and its Chairman.

Media organizations, stakeholders, and the public are urged to verify facts before publication. Dr Israel and the Board are fully prepared to provide documentation and evidence supporting every action taken to restore integrity, accountability, and professionalism at the Centre. FMC Abeokuta is being restructured and reformed to serve its mandate effectively, and the Board will continue to safeguard the institution from interference, manipulation, and attempts to revert it to a past of mismanagement

Signed

Media Office of Hon Dayo Israel
Chairman, Board of Management
Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta