The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, has said that the Federal Government is not owing the striking members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors or other health workers in the country.

He stated that only illegally recruited doctors were not paid because they were not captured by the Office of the Head of  Service of the Federation nor were their  payments provided for by the budget office.

Speaking during the open session of the meeting of the Presidential Committee on Salaries with the leadership of the Joint Health Sector Unions in Abuja on Tuesday, Ngige referred to the presidential waiver for employment into  the  health and defence ministries in view of the general embargo on employment and assured that doctors illegally recruited would have their service regularised in due course.

He noted, “NARD goes about telling Nigerians that government owes them salaries and that government is not taking the problems in the health sector serious.  But this is incorrect.

“No doctor, nurse, pharmacist or any other health worker, including the driver, is owed monthly salary; government pays as and when due.

“The truth is that NARD doctors fail to tell Nigerians that their colleagues who are owed salaries are the ones illegally recruited and were neither captured by the Office of the Head of  Service of the Federation nor were their  payments provided for by the Budget Office of the Federation.

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“Monthly salaries are done as and when due for those legitimately employed by the Federal Government but  not to those illegally employed and  who need their appointments regularised and captured in the finances of government for payment.  This takes a process which is not accomplished overnight.”

The minister further said the FG owed few doctors and other workers the 2020 COVID-19 allowance, besides the arrears of the consequential adjustment of the National Minimum Wage and skipping allowance which cut across other  sectors, noting that work was in progress to clear these.

He blamed the Nigerian Medical Association and JOHESU for bringing segregation in the negotiation for the new hazard allowance  which he said the Federal Government already budgeted N37.5bn  for.

The Minister of State for Health, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora said it was a wrong time to go on strike.

The Minister of State for Finance, Budget and Planning, Clement Agba regretted the expanding budgetary expenditure of government even as revenue continues to dwindle.

President of JOHESU, Josiah Biobelemonye pressed for the swift resolution of the challenges facing its members to avoid forcing them to strike.

The meeting is still ongoing as of the time of filing this report.