Medical doctors in Ondo State under the aegis of Nigerian Medical Association, have called on the state government to pay their members their hazard allowance.
The doctors said the neighbouring states had begun to pay the allowance to their own health workers, urging the Sunshine State to do the needful.
The state chairman of the association, Dr Omosehin Adeyemi-Osowe, made the plea during the 46th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the association, themed, ‘Medicine and the future economy: The Ondo State doctor,’ held in Akure, the state capital.
Adeyemi-Osowe said the governor failed to fulfil his promise to pay their salary arrears by December, 2022.
He said, “When our exco came in in 2022, we paid the governor courtesy visit and he made several promises. He promised us that he would pay us our salary arrears by December last year, and in all honesty he fulfilled the promise. Currently, our salaries are being paid as and when due.
“However, we have some challenges in certain areas. The new approved hazard allowance for the health workers has not been paid by the state government. The information we heard is that the committee set up by the government is working on it at the advanced stage but our members are becoming agitated because neighbouring states have started paying it. The governor also raised when we visited him that the state would pay. We hope that very soon the state we pay it.”
The chairman commended members of the association for their doggedness and commitment to rescue the health sector in spite of the current challenges being faced, saying there was the need to encourage doctors who are still in Nigeria for their unwavering commitment to the development of the medical profession.
Speaking at the event, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, said the government had embarked on massive recruitment of medical doctors to work in all the state-owned hospitals and basic health centers across the state.
