Five States owe doctors salaries - NMA

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Wednesday disclosed Abia, Imo, Ondo, Ekiti and the Anambra States owe doctors backlogs of salaries and other statutory benefits.

It urged the States to clear the backlogs as it has endorsed all lawful actions that State chapters may adopt in obtaining their due benefits and compensations.

NMA President, Prof Innocent Ujah, who spoke with reporters in Abuja, also commended Kogi and Edo States for clearing the backlog of salaries for their doctors.

He said: “The Annual General Conference/Delegates Meeting (AGC/DM) of the NMA, which held between April 25 and May 2, 2021, reviewed the level of progress in clearing the backlog of salary arrears of doctors in Abia, Imo, Ondo, Ekiti, Kogi, Anambra and Edo states.

“Governments of Kogi and Edo states were appreciated for clearing the backlog of salaries for their doctors but expressed dismay and dissatisfaction with the remaining states for their failure to pay doctors their deserved wages.

“AGC/DM therefore strongly appealed to the concerned State governments to clear the backlog of entitlements owed her members and endorsed any lawful action that those State chapters may adopt in obtaining their due benefits and compensations for work already done.”

He added: “The Conference was worried about the shoddy implementation of the centralized placement of the House Officers and resolved that NMA would not spare any efforts at ensuring speedy and fewer complications in its implementation of this commendable policy.

“The Conference acknowledged the report of the Remunerations and Welfare Committees as it concerns Hazard allowance, Retirement Age, Specialist Allowance and urges Government to expedite action to conclude the process in order to forestall any further disruptions of services in the public health sector.

“The Conference is saddened by the worsening spate of killings, maiming, kidnapping, banditry, arson, insurgency and other forms of violence with attendant socio-economic consequences in almost every part of Nigeria.

“NMA is deeply concerned that healthcare delivery has been severely affected and therefore calls on all citizens to jettison dangerous unpatriotic tendencies while urging the federal government to renew its efforts to quickly bring this humanitarian disaster under control.”