‘Japa’ Doctors’ Names Still In Nominal Roll of Government Hospitals — Akabueze, DG Budget

The Director General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, on Thursday, disclosed that medical doctors who have left Nigeria in search of greener pastures still have their names on the nominal rolls of hospitals in the country.

He said this during a meeting between the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee to address the strike action embarked on by resident doctors in the country.

He also appealed to the doctors to stop holding Nigerians to ransom with strikes, as this was affecting Nigerians negatively.

He said: “When you look at the nominal role, many of the people who are said to have exited, to have “japaed” are still on the nominal roll of the hospitals because…some of them are taking study leave, some of them are taking leave of absence and they remain on the nominal roll. So when they do the evaluation of authorized establishment vis-à-vis bodies in the post, those bodies are no longer in the post but they are reflecting as if they are in the post.

“Meanwhile, the hospitals know these people have japaed, they are not available… they are still kept. That is something that perhaps at the level of the Ministry of Health makes policy to determine how we deal with these things.

“Health workers can’t simply go off on leave of absence and have their job or their job guaranteed there waiting, meanwhile, there is nobody to serve the people because there is no vacancy there, they cannot replace. If we do not deal with this, even when you come to implementing this one-on-one replacement, would such people be deemed replaceable? People who have left. And if they are replaced and tomorrow the person returns, what then happens?”

The Deputy Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Hon Tanko Sununu, who presided over the meeting, said that it was important to find a solution to the incessant strikes as Nigerians at the receiving end.

He urged the resident doctors to be reasonable and give the government more time to address their grievances.

The Chairman Salaries and Wages Commission, Mr. Ekpo Nta, said that some of the financial agreements were not met due to the current exchange rate in the country.

The National President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Emeka Orji, listed the issues that led to the strike including the payment of examination and training allowances, loss of manpower, downgrading of NARD members by the National Medical Post Graduate College, non-payment of skipping arrears, arrears of minimum wage, upward review and consolidation of salary structure among others.

He said that the association has been giving government warning overtime to no avail.

On the issue of downgrading of membership, the Registrar of the National Post Graduate Medical College, Professor Fatiu Arogundade, said that most of the doctors attend schools whose certificates are below standard.

He said that any Nigerian doctor who presents a certificate from the West African College of Surgeons will not be treated as a doctor from the National Post Graduate Medical College.

The Chairman Committee of Chief Medical Directors and the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Prof Emem Bassey, said that no medical doctor on study leave is paid salaries.

He said that most of the time, the hospitals had to employ nonregular staff to assist in the hospitals.

Chairman of the Committee, who came in after the meeting had commenced, Prof Julius Ihonvbere, said they were committed to engaging all stakeholders to addressing the strike action by the doctors.