The federal government has cleared the air on the difference of payment of arrears regarding the resident doctors in the country
According to the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, doctors who were not paid are those illegally recruited into the system
Ngige noted that the FG does not give preferential treatment, adding that the affected medical doctors did not follow due approvals
FCT, Abuja – The federal government has disclosed that doctors are not being owed and stated reasons why some were not paid as claimed.
According to the FG, resident doctors who were not paid were only those illegally recruited by Chief Medical Directors (CMDs), without the necessary approval.
Vanguard reports that the minister of labour and employment, Senator Chris Ngige, made this disclosure when the chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Dr Muheeba Dankaka, and other federal commissioners paid him a courtesy visit, on Thursday, September 23, in his office, at Abuja.
“You people know the mandate for recruitment. The Federal Ministry involved will give approval. The office of the Head of Service of the Federation will give approval. Budget Office will give approval. These three approvals come to you in Federal Character Commission for final approval and issuing of compliance letter. But in the case of these resident doctors, their letters were issued without any of these approvals.
“The CMDs who did that said they thought they could pay them through Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, GFMIS, platform, an ad hoc platform used for sundry expenses. Personnel costs have been removed from GFMIS. That is the problem.
“Every payment for personnel costs is done under Integrated Personal and Payroll Information System, IPPIS. But, now a waiver has been given. It will come to you in the FCC to give compliance certificate.
“We explained to them that it is not a one bus stop thing. It cannot be done in one day. They said no, we are going on strike. You go on strike to force government to regularize an irregularity. It is not done.”
Ngige stated further that the request for a compliance letter would be sent to the FCC by the Federal Ministry of Health before the end of the week and urged the commission to give the request expeditious attention.
