Ekiti State Government has debunked claims that it is owing Medical Doctors Four months salary.
The State Commissioner for Health, Oyebanji Filani in a statement described the allegation has false and unfounded adding that government had “dilligently paid the salaries of all workers in the State including Doctors.”
The Statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a news article credited to the National President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Professor Innocent Ujah alleging that the State Government has owed Doctors’ salaries for four months.
“The Government of Ekiti State wishes to state very clearly that this statement is false and unfounded. The State Government has diligently paid the salaries of all workers in the State including Doctors.
“Public servants in Ekiti State including medical/health workers receive their salaries regularly without any default from the state government.
“For the purpose of clarity, medical and health workers in the state are employed across the three tiers of care.
“These are the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti; the 22 secondary care hospitals under the management of the Hospitals Management Board and Primary Healthcare facilities managed by the State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
“Health workers employed through the State Hospitals’ Management Board and the State Primary Health Care Development Agency are paid directly by the State Government though the Office of the Accountant General.
“Workers employed at EKSUTH, as with other autonomous entities such as the State University, receive their salaries from their organisations, with subventions released by the State Government to these institutions.
“As at today, all health workers in the State including Doctors have been paid their salaries up to November 2021.
“However, the public is aware that salaries were owed between July and September 2018 to workers in the State by the past administration.
“The administration of Dr. John Kayode Fayemi acknowledged this liability from the previous administration and has begun to defray these salary arrears to the workers. It is important to state that the present administration is not owing any worker since its inauguration in October 2018.
“The State Government holds its workers including medical and health professionals in high esteem and would continue to make their welfare a top priority at all times.
“It is public knowledge that the State Government regularly engages with its workers and continues to create enabling environment as a catalyst for improved productivity.
“This is more entrenched in the health sector where the State Government has committed to building staff capacity, infrastructural uplifting of the health facilities and procurement of state-of-the-art medical equipment.
“The general public is hereby advised to completely disregard this misleading article and we encourage everyone to refrain from spreading unverified information which can be quickly and needlessly sensationalised.
“Reliable information on the welfare of health workers in the State can be obtained from the Ministry of Health and Human Services through the Office of the Honourable Commissioner for Health.”
