The Ondo State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association has threatened to embark on an industrial action if the state government fails to fulfill its promise to review the hazard allowance of its members.

The NMA lamented that for a long time, the doctors practising in government-owned hospitals were paid only N5,000.

Speaking during an event to make the NMA 2023 Physicians’ Week on Monday in Akure,  the Chairman of the Ondo NMA, Dr Omosehin Adeyemi-Osowe, said despite promises, the state had refused to increase the hazard allowance.

Adeyemi-Osowe said, “We have many challenges in Ondo NMA, one of them is that we lack personnel. Recently we heard in the news that over 1,000 health workers would be employed by the state government. We are still waiting for the recruitment to commence. Another challenge is our allowances, we have had a review recently, and before that review, the hazard allowance has been reviewed upwards, before the review of that hazard allowance, what we received as doctors was N5,000.

“This has actually been reviewed by the Federal Government but up till this moment, Ondo State has not implemented the review, but we know that it has been approved, we were promised that there would be implementation in Ondo State, but up till this moment we are yet to perceive the implementation.

“As of last Friday the government, through the Permanent Secretary in Establishment, promised that on or before the end of tomorrow (Tuesday) a circular would be out, we are waiting.”

The state NMA, who confirmed that the state had also experienced the ‘japa’ syndrome in the health sector, said the development required the government to improve the welfare of the remaining health workers in the state.

In the same vein, the National President of the NMA, Dr Uche Ojinmah whose speech was delivered by  Adeyemi-Osowe, warned against running doctors down in Nigeria.

Ojinmah said, “We use this medium to humbly sound a note of warning to all and sundry to never try to run Nigerian doctors down in any way but to always follow due process if aggrieved or in discharging their responsibilities. If anyone has any case against a doctor practising in Nigeria, it should channel such to the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for an appropriate response, being the body statutorily saddled with such responsibility.

“The NMA hereby expresses its displeasure at the recent media trial of some health care workers by the Minister of Women Affairs.”