Mrs. Ngozi Uzodike, a lecturer at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra State, gave birth to septuplets (seven babies)
Last Sunday, January 8, Ngozi, a department of business administration employee, gave birth to two boys and five girls at the Obijackson Women and Children Hospital in the Okija Local Government Area of the Ihiala State.
One of the girls passed away, and the hospital has threatened to cease treating the other six infants if the N19 million bill is not paid.
The new mother lamented that she had not been paid salaries since she started working at the institution in December 2020.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, her husband, Mr. Celestine Uzodike, said they could only pay N1.6m of the N9m billed by the hospital.
He lamented that his wife had never earned a kobo as salary, even after she had been promoted from Assistant Lecturer to Lecturer II.
Uzodike, however, appealed to the Federal Government to pay the two years salary arrears owed to the new mother, and also come to their aid.
“The babies came out prematurely at 26th week gestation period and the hospital said they will need to be placed under intensive care and each of them will cost N3 million. One of them has died, leaving six babies, that is why they billed us like that.”
The mother, who was very weak to speak after the delivery, said, “All I want is for philanthropists both in Anambra State and Nigeria at large to come to our aid in order to offset the hospital bill.”
