‘FG owing doctors promotion arrears since 2014`
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and chairman committee of CMDs in Nigeria, Prof Thomas Agan has disclosed that federal government has not paid doctors their promotion arrears since 2014. Speaking with Daily Trust, he said that government was only able to pay minute part of the arrears in […]
The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) and chairman committee of CMDs in Nigeria, Prof Thomas Agan has disclosed that federal government has not paid doctors their promotion arrears since 2014.
Speaking with Daily Trust, he said that government was only able to pay minute part of the arrears in 2013. “The federal government has not been paying promotion arrears in Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria since 2013.
“In 2013 they made some part payment but 2014 to 2016 have not been paid. Even the promotion that was done in 2016 in most teaching hospitals including Calabar, the report has not come out from the Federal Ministry of Health,”he said.
Agan said the implication of this is that they depend on their supervisory ministry, and if money is not released then it is difficult for them to pay.
“ For now, 2014, 2015, 2016 and part of 2013 promotion arrears has not been paid.
The government has calculated it, it is in the budget office and all that is needed is for the Federal Minister of Finance to authorize cash-backing. The government is doing their best to ensure that civil servants in the health sector do not suffer unnecessarily because it is their right not a privilege,”he said.
On the training and sponsorship of doctors for advanced specialised courses, Agan said there has not been any budgetary provision for such.
He stated that there was a time they were paying sponsorship from personnel allocation but that they were stopped.
The CMD appealed to the resident doctors to exercise patience as there are strong indications that government will soon defray the backlog of all the allowances.