Abia doctors barricade gov’t house over non-payment of salaries

0
330
Striking doctors in a Nigerian hospital

Doctors in Abia State, on Thursday barricaded the gate of the Government House, pleading that they were dying and unable to deal with their issues.

In their anger, they said next time, they will carry the corpses of their members, who die daily to the Government House.

The doctors were crying through a peaceful protest over the non-payment of over 25 months salaries.

Carrying placards with different inscriptions, including “Abia doctors’ lives matter,” “Two years without salary is no joke,” and “No salaries for 25 months,” among others, the doctors pleaded with the people of the state to prevail on the state government to pay them, asking, “Is this another form of slavery?”

Addressing the doctors under the aegis of the Nigeria Medical Association, Abia Chapter, at the Government House gate, the chairman, Dr Isaiah Abali, said they took to peaceful protest “due to the situation we found ourselves in.”

He said, “Doctors are not being paid by the Abia State Government.

“Our salaries are our entitlement.

“How can we work for 25 months without salaries and still expect the person to be on duty?

“Who pays our children’s school fees? Who feeds us and our families?

“We cannot pay our house rents because we work for the Abia State Government. We want the world to know this man’s inhumanity to man.”

No government official was on hand to address the protesters.

Leave a comment