THE Nigerian Medical Association has disclosed that the Abia State government owed its health workers at the State Teaching Hospital not less than 13-month salaries.
Francis Faduyile, NMA president, made this known in Abuja while reading the communique issued at the end of the 59th Annual General Conference and delegates’ meeting of the association, Punch reported.
Faduyile said the Management Board of the Teaching Hospital was as well owed a ten-month salary.
“We expressed great displeasure and frowned on the failure of the Abia State government to pay the salaries of doctors and other health workers working at the Abia State University Teaching Hospital for up to 13 months and Abia State Hospital Management Board for 10 months”, he said.
Apart from the Abia government, the NMA also frowned against Imo State government who it said their members are being paid 70 per cent salaries.
“We also expressed great displeasure and frowned on the payment of 70 per cent salaries to doctors and other health workers working with the Imo State Government since September 2015.”
NMA considered the action of both Abia and Imo governments as unacceptable.
The president complained of how Nigerian doctors get low payment when compared to counterparts in other countries.
“The NMA would appear at the next meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum to discuss the issue with state governors,” he said.
Faduyile said during the AGM that not less than 2,000 medical doctors leave the country annually for other countries.
A media report in March noted how Saudi-Arabian health officials conducted recruitment tests for Nigerian doctors en masse.
Isaac Adewole, Nigerian health minister, had expressed worry on how some state governments could not recruit and keep medical doctors, including specialists, in their secondary and tertiary hospitals.
“In many cases, most local government health facilities do not have doctors. These are related to poor welfare and remuneration package at various levels amongst other factors,” Adewole said on May 2, during the AGM.