Medical staff members at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital in Ile-Ife, Osun State, have taken legal action against the management for allegedly forcing them into poverty by withholding their salaries for more than ten months.
The workers who spoke with some metro in several interviews on Wednesday emphasized that the hardship that the non-payment of salaries has caused them to endure has led them to turn to begging in order to provide for their families.
One worker, simply known as Ben, claimed that since joining OAUTH on December 13, 2022, he has not received his salary, making it impossible for him to provide for his family.
After my medicals were finished on December 13, 2022, I received an appointment letter. I was transferred to my main assignment location. Since then, I have not received my salary and we have been in this sorry-case scenario. He said, “I’ve rented an apartment and used my savings for a variety of purposes in the hopes of getting money back when they start paying me, but nothing worked out.
“Some of the reasons why our medical practitioners, such as doctors, pharmacists, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, physiotherapists, radiographers, etc., are leaving the country is because the ones that are working in Nigeria are suffering,” stated another employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear of being victimized.
Imagine a medical staff that has been employed by a Federal Government Teaching Hospital for more than ten months without receiving a single kobo in pay. This is because we have not been included in IPPIS for one or two reasons that are only the ministry and hospital management are aware of.
“How do you want that same staff to care for a patient when many lives are already miserable, staff members are in debt, families are falling apart, staff members are unable to pay for their children’s school expenses, and some are depressed?”
He continued by pleading with the appropriate authorities to intervene on their behalf, saying that all attempts to guarantee that their pleas were heard had been fruitless.
“In the past, a number of health unions, including JOHESU, have gone on strike in support of the recently hired employees in an effort to get management to pay salaries. However, these actions have not been successful because the Ministry of Health has always threatened or forced them to return to work.
“A verification exercise for the new staff was conducted at the hospital in September 2023 by a few Ministry of Health officials. It was two months ago, and we haven’t heard from them since. The employees continue to work, endure pain, and smile.
He closed by pleading with well-meaning Nigerians and the established authorities to “save the soul” of the recently hired employees of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital.
When contacted, OAUTH’s Chief Medical Director, John Okeniyi, pointed our correspondent in the direction of a tweet from Muhammad Pate, the Minister of Health, but declined to provide an official statement.
“The Minister of Health has weighed in on this matter, so I am unable to provide you with any formal or informal interviews at this time. The only thing I can do is point you in the direction of his Twitter (X) handle to see his response to the matter. I’m waiting on instructions from FMoHSW,” he remarked.
In the meantime, Pate stated in a tweet on October 13 on his verified X handle that the investigation was finished and that the problem would be fixed as soon as possible.
“We are dealing with the OAUTH circumstance. The investigation into this regrettable circumstance has just been concluded. We will try our best to find an equitable solution because we recognize the struggles that many innocent healthcare workers are facing,” he tweeted.