The doctors who vowed to continue the protest until the management reverse its decision on the payment of the shortfall, alleged the Acting Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the hospital, Iliasu Ahmed, of diverting the fund released by the federal government for the payment to another project.
The doctors, armed with placards of various inscriptions such as “pay us the 2016 salary arrears, why holding to our arrears despite the release of N280m, we no longer want leaders like Ahmed Iliasu, where is N280m released for the payment of 2016 shortfall” among others, blocked the main entrance to the CMD’s office.
They called on the Acting CMD of the institution to come and give account of how the N280m released by the federal government for the payment of the 2016 shortfall in their salary was spent.
Speaking on behalf of the protesting doctors, President of the ARD, Ibikunle Fakorede, said Ahmed has received the fund for the payment of the shortfall since April 2016 while he kept mute over the development saying when contacted, the CMD denied receiving any funds for the purpose.
Fakorede maintained that the Medical Director had diverted the funds for other uses, contrary to the mandate contained in the memo directing the payment of the funds.
“We have heard that the Federal Government has no other funds to remit to the institution for the payment of the arrears, since the one released had been used for other purposes by the CMD.
“The CMD is still denying that the N280 million paid to FMC Owo is not meant for our salary shortfall and up till now there is no evidence from him to counter the documents we have presented before him
“We were told by the Presidential Initiative on Continued Audit, (PICA), Abuja that the N280 million is for our salary shortfall.”
“We will continue to occupy the Acting Medical Director’s office until our demand is met. The protest and occupation of the CMD office will continue between the hours 8am to 1pm daily till our demands are met. We would resume work by 2pm each day till 8am the following morning.
However, the Acting Medical Director, Ahmed, who spoke to Nigerian Tribune through a telephone conversation confirmed the receipt of the N280m from federal government but said the fund was not meant payment of shortfall in the 2016 salary of the medical doctors.
According to Ahmed, the fund was meant for other expenditures, arrears including the entitlements of other categories of workers.
Ahmed said “this money they are talking about is not for Resident Doctors alone, the money is meant for all categories of workers. The Federal government gave us N280million and we are still expecting over a billion Naira from the federal government.
“They are only shouting over this fund as some institutions are also affected by this payment. We have paid everything, as it is not meant for them alone but all the workers in the hospital that have similar shortfall last year.”
He however frowned over the protest by the Resident Doctors saying the protest was wrongly timed, saying a case is coming up at the industrial Court today over the matter, urging the medical practitioners not to preempt the court.
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But the doctors, brandishing relevant documents maintained that the fund was meant for resident doctors and had been diverted for another purpose while adding that they would continue to make the demands until the payments were made.
The President of the group said they had written to the Minister of Health, finance and labour and productivity while the union is expecting response from all the ministries in the development.
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