Abia: Reinstated Health Workers Protest Over Non-payment of Salaries

Health Workers in Abia State on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest to the office of the Accountant General of Abia State, over unpaid salaries.

The workers, mostly nurses from local government health workers, Hospital Management Board, Ministry of Health among others lamented the hardship they have faced since their recall from retirement.

The Abia State government had in 2024 approved extended years of service from 35 years to 40 years and from 60 years of age to 65 years.

Speaking to journalists during the protest in front of the office of the Accountant General, some of the reinstated Health Workers who did not want their names on print lamented that over one years since after their recall, the Abia State government has failed to pay their salaries neither were they allowed to proceed to retirement and process their pension and gratuity.

“The governor, in his fatherly heart, approved the reinstatement of retired health workers in line with the federal government circlular. He added five years to retired health workers. But since 2024, till now, we have not been paid, we have done every necessary thing they want us to do, still, we are not paid”.

“We are here to see the Accountant General so that they will tell us the way forward. If the governor’s pronouncement is no longer feasible, they should let us know so that we will go and process our pension.That is why we are here”.

“Our children are all at home. They are no longer going to school. Most of our colleagues have died”.

“You added five years to somebody, three years have gone. Most of them are in the hospital. Some of us barely feed on a daily basis”.

“So we are appealing to the governor to direct those that are in charge to please, pay us. We are dying”.

Another one when asked if they have processed the necessary documents by the ministry responded thus:

“Yes, that is the people that screened us. They screened us. We went through the process of screening. It was there that we were screened. We are here today to see the Accountant General and appeal to her to pay us our salary since we have been reinstated. We are the health workers who were reinstated”.

“According to the circular, that was given by the governor on 2nd January, 2024, for the health workers of the state to be added five years extra so that their retirement age now will not be 35 years, it will be 40 years or 65”.

All have undergone all the preliminaries, all the screenings.The panel has seen us, they have seen us, and they have known that we are working. The first batch has been accredited. We have been given a reinstatement letter since last year but we have not been paid up to now.

“This is about two years and three months I’ve been working without salary. And we are here today to make a passionate appeal that the good governor of our state who has graciously given us this extra five years to come to our rescue”.

“The commissioner, the head of service have shifted it to the accountant general. That’s why we are here today to see the accountant general”.

“Another health worker who spoke to newsmen has this to say, “I’m here because they have reinstated us back to back to service. My own is for an extra five years of forty-five years. Some are sixty-five years and since then, we have been going to work”.

“Personally, I have been going to work. They have posted me to my health facility. All of us have been posted out and we all have been going to work”.

“For over a year and some months, some two years, we have not been paid. Check how you feel if you are working, transport, going to work every day without payments”.

And since we came here, no government official has spoken to us or came here to address us. So we are just appealing, please, pay us”.

I am a widow. I have children. My son came back from school. He has not gone back to school again because of no assistance. No money to send him back to school.We are just begging the government who is supposed to pay us, but has not paid us.

Another one added, “We met the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance this morning. She responded that the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health has really sent mail to the AppMat to carry us along in the payments. Then we are here today now, as all of us have come to see the accountant general of the state to know if she has been able to do the needful”.

Efforts made by journalists to reach the Accountant General ended in futility as no one in her office agreed to speak on the matter.