FG earmarks N1bn for payment of death benefits to deceased doctors, health workers

The Federal Government earmarked N1 billion for the payment of death benefits to families of deceased doctors and health workers, while N4.3 billion had been included in the 2021 budget for the Residency Training Fund.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, who disclosed this, said the government had already commenced payment to these categories of people under the Group Life Insurance.

Ngige, who had a meeting with the Federal Government representatives and the Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), on how the perennial crisis in the health sector would be reduced or eliminated, disclosed that evidence of payment was tendered by the office of the Head of Service of the Federation to show that insurance companies had started paying.

The minister said: “Over N1 billion is on for payment as death benefits. Evidence has been tendered about those who have received the cheques. And so, we are happy that something has been done in that direction in health institutions. This is apart from what happens in other government establishments covered by this life insurance.”

On the Residency Training Fund which is supposed to be in the 2021 budget, he said the Budget Office of the Federation had also tendered evidence to show that the N4.3 billion due to them was captured under the personnel costs in service wide votes.

According to him, work is in progress for those who are migrating from GFMIS platform to IPPIS, adding that the budget and IPPIS offices were given about 30 days to conclude all the outstanding issues.

He disclosed that a committee had been constituted to look into the issue of tertiary institutions that are not adhering to the abolition of bench fees.

Ngige said: “Bench fees are fees paid by residents to institutions where they have gone to acquire trainings that are not available in their original training institutions. They (resident doctors) have claimed that some training hospitals like Lagos University Teaching Hospital and University College Ibadan are not adhering to that agreement and a special committee has been set up under the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health to look into it. The Chairman of the Committee of CMD’s, Prof. Jaf Momoh who is the CMD of National Hospital Abuja, will assist him. We hope that matter will be sorted out in two weeks.

“With all these and others like consequential minimum wage salary adjustment arrears being taken care of, we hope that the National Executive Committee (NEC) of NARD which is billed to meet sometime next week will be happy and then, encourage their officers to dialogue. We don’t need strikes anymore and they (resident doctors) agreed with me that we don’t need strikes. So, it is a work in progress. We thank them for the understanding they showed.”