ONITSHA— Doctors in Anambra State Civil Service, under the aegis of National Association of General Medicine and Dental Practitioners, NAGMDP, have described doctors in the state civil service as the least paid in Africa.

This is coming on the heels of ongoing indefinite strike declared by Nigeria Medical Association, NMA, nationwide.

Chairman of the state chapter of NAGMDP, Dr. Joe Uyamadu, who disclosed this in Onitsha yesterday,  said while doctors in other states in the country were being paid 100 percent of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale, CONMESS, before the commencement of the strike, doctors in the state were being paid only 50 percent of CONMESS.

Uyamadu, who noted that doctors in the state had an understanding with Governor Willie Obiano to wait until government completed the refurbishment and equipment of general hospitals in the state before implementing CONMESS in full, however, stated that they were on strike because the national body of NMA was involved. 

He appealed to Governor Obiano to suspend the equipment and refurbishment of hospitals and start paying Anambra doctors 100 percent CONMESS like their counterparts in other states of the federation as soon as the strike is over.

This, according to him,  is to avoid brain drain of doctors in the state.

He also said House officers everywhere in Nigeria received four times more than what their counterparts in Anambra State received which, according to him, prompted newly trained doctors due for House manship to always leave for other states to serve.

He said:  “This strike is an opportunity for the state government to look into our plight, with a view to solving it.”

“Every doctor in Nigeria is paid 100 percent of the CONMESS before the strike, except those in Anambra State who are still being paid 50 percent”.

“We are being paid 50 percent of CONMESS and out of that, they have continued to make unknown deductions from our salary on monthly basis without telling us what the deductions stand for.

“We assured the new governor, Chief Willie Obiano, that we will not go on strike and he has shown enough intent of paying us all our entitlements.

“This is a national strike that we must join and as such, being the chairman of the state civil service doctors who has even set up a monitoring committee to go round and get the names of those working for a disciplinary action, I could not have gone to my office and be working when the strike is still on-going”.

He said it was a strike that involved every civil service doctor, hinting that it might end on Wednesday, if the Emergency Delegates Meeting billed for today in Abuja decided so.

The chairman, who denied that he came to work at General Hospital, Onitsha, when they were on strike, as reported in a national daily, said the allegation was the handiwork of mischief makers working against the nationwide strike.

“It is not true that I went to my office at the dental department of Onitsha General Hospital to work, because I was not even in town during the week that had just ended and so I was surprise to see my name in a national daily saying that I was working in my office”.

“I suppose it should be the handiwork of mischief makers who are against the national strike action,” Uyamadu said.