SOME health workers in the service of Ondo State Government have cried out over non-payment of their 15 months salaries by the state government.
The aggrieved workers said despite their active participation in helping to contain the pandemic COVID-19, 25 of them are yet to be paid their remunerations.
The concerned health workers said they currently work at General Hospital Owo, General Hospital Ore and General Hospital, Ikare Akoko.
26 of us were recruited into Ondo State civil service, health management board since June 26,2019. We were offered our appointment letter which was duly signed by the Permanent Secretary of Health Management board, Akure.
— Aketipayus (@unpaidstaff) August 21, 2020
One of the health workers who shared the ordeal of the team at the weekend in a social media post narrated how 26 of them were employed by the State Government Civil Service Commission.
They were reportedly offered employment on June 26, 2019 under the leadership of Oluwatoyin Akinkuotu, the state former Head of Service.
According to him, the letters were signed by the Permanent Secretary of the State Health Management Board.
The source who expressed concerns on behalf of the group in a pseudo name Aketipayus @unpaidstaff disclosed that surviving without salaries have been challenging.
The affected persons, it was gathered have been living on debts, yet manage to keep up with the normal office activities.
The health workers said it took months to discover that a lady among them had been singled-out for payment while efforts to ensure the new head of service, Oluwadare Aragbaye fixed the problem failed.
“After six months of not being paid, we got to know that just one of the 26 health workers (the only igbo girl) has been receiving her salary since last year October! Well, may be Ondo State Government is really Igbocentric as people say,” Aketipayus stated in the tweet.
The health workers claimed to have reached out to top state officials including Rotimi Akeredolu, the State Governor, Joel Ale, the governor’s Chief of staff and leaders of the State Assembly but their efforts reportedly failed to yield results.
“It is with heavy heart I’m saying that till date the remaining of us are yet to be paid and we are still working even in this period of COVID-19. All efforts to get an answer to this injustice by the government have proven abortive. This is getting unbearable.”
“Getting a job is supposed to be a thing of joy but why is mine otherwise? I keep borrowing from friends and family, I keep posting my account details on every giveaway posts, it is now 15 months and the transition of a new life is unbearable!
“We are suffering! We have been suffering for more than a year!!!
“I can’t feed myself! I can’t pay my rent! Most times, it is difficult to go to work but I still go! You can imagine someone without a salary for 15 months, how do you want me to survive?”
However, The ICIR reached out to Donald Ojogo, the state Commissioner for Information to seek his comment but he did not answer his calls. Text message sent to his line was not replied.
Olugbenga heads the Investigations Desk at The ICIR. Do you have a scoop? Shoot him an email at oadanikin@icirnigeria.org. Twitter Handle: @OluAdanikin