Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on Thursday said the state had increased its subvention to the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.
The governor who did not disclose the amount of money now budgeted for the institution however stated that the teaching hospital would be in a position to continuously pay the new minimum wage, offset the 2016 and 2017 arrears of salaries, and enlist the 177 re-engaged workers on the wage list.
Governor Makinde disclosed the approvals while on a working tour of the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, where he commissioned a number of projects. He stated that the remaining 46 other disengaged workers of the medical institution, who were yet to be cleared by the civil service system, would be screened on Monday.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, further indicated that the governor assured the three workers’ unions in the institution at a meeting that his administration would ensure that LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, takes a good share of the medical tourism industry in Nigeria.
He stated that his administration remained committed to fixing the health care sector in the state, adding that by doing so, the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) would increase.
The statement further said Governor Makinde also commissioned the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine donated by the Ogbomoso Pivotal Club, Ogbomoso; the Resident Doctors’ Lodge and the Patients’ Relatives Building.
He said: “I have granted approval for the payment of 2014 corrected CONMESS. Also, approval has been granted for the payment of COVID-19 hazard allowance to all health workers in Oyo State, with effect from March when the first index case was reported in the state. So, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital will not be left out.
“Also, about the 177 staff that were recalled and yet to be paid, I asked the Commissioner for Health why they were not paid and I was told it was due to the subvention. I have given approval for the subvention to be increased, which should take care of payment of the minimum wage to everybody; an additional monthly fund for the payment of 2016 and 2017 arrears, as well as payment of 177 staff that were recently re-engaged effective from the end of this month. So, by the end of this month, all of these payments will occur.”
He expressed the commitment of his administration to resolving many of the challenges in the hospital and the health sector, which, he said, were inherited, noting that since government is a continuum, his administration will do all it can to solve most of the challenges.
He said, “I know that there is an ongoing recruitment exercise of new medical staff by Oyo State Hospital Management Board. We believe that the exercise is open. It should be credible and you don’t need to have a godfather to be employed. I know they are moving towards the physical interviews. I have asked them that those who have been missed out and have real justification should also be considered,” he said.
Earlier in his remarks, the Chief Medical Director of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Prof. Oladimeji George Opadijo, said the teaching hospital had a virology building that needed to be developed in order to take care of viral studies, diagnosis and clinical intervention of viral outbreaks of any sort.
The leaders of the three workers’ unions in the institution, including the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), represented by Dr. Orogun Mosope; Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), represented by Nurse Olukemi Ogundipe; and the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), represented Dr. Ayobami Alabi, commended the governor for his concern on their welfare and the approval of some of their demands.
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