Staff members from various agencies under the Federal Ministry of Health have expressed their grievances regarding the Bola Tinubu administration's failure to pay their salaries and allowances for the past six months.
The Academic Staff Union of Education and Association Institutions (NASU), speaking to SaharaReporters, urged President Tinubu to intervene and expedite the disbursement of their overdue salaries.
"We want to draw President Bola Tinubu's attention to the critical issue of non-payment of salaries for the 13 health regulatory bodies under the Ministry of Health," a NASU representative said. "In June 2023, we received a letter from Nigeria's budget office indicating that we would no longer be funded from the government's treasury.
"In response, the union chairmen of the health regulatory bodies formed a coalition to engage with the committee of Registrar CEOs from each regulatory body involved. We sought assistance from the Minister of Health, who facilitated a waiver from the federal government to allow us to remain in the government treasury. However, before obtaining the waiver, we were not allowed to submit our budget.
"In late March 2024, the budget office instructed us to resubmit our budget, which we did promptly. Unfortunately, we have yet to receive our salaries. This has put us in a difficult position, as we have not been paid since January and are struggling to cope.
"We urgently need your intervention and assistance to resolve this pressing issue and ensure our salaries are disbursed without further delay."
In response, the Ministry of Health's Director of Information, Patricia Deworitshe, told SaharaReporters that the workers were aware of the proper channels for lodging their complaints.
"I am not aware of that. The workers complaining and lamenting know the proper channels to go through if they have not been paid their salary. They need to contact the Minister and Permanent Secretary. If they don't notify them, how will anything be done about it?" she said.
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