Nurses at the Ondo State University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital have berated the management of the teaching hospital for owing three months salary arrears.

The nurses chided the management of the teaching hospital headed by Dr Oluwole Ige, lamenting the lack of adequate welfare from the hospital.

However, the hospital denied claims by the nurses, explaining that the teaching hospital does not owe salaries.


The hospital also said the nurses were not being considerate going by the economic situation of the country.

A nurse at the hospital, who spoke with SaharaReporters but does not want to be named due to fear of being suspended, said the hospital received subvention from the government monthly and also generated revenue internally.

He queried why the hospital could pay other staff regularly but were not paying the nurses.

“The hospital receives subvention of about N100m monthly from the government and this makes us wonder why it is difficult to pay.

They are paying resident doctors promptly, but nurses are suffering due to months of salary arrears.

“Another nurse in the teaching hospital said the salary arrears dating back to 2019 adding that the hospital has since been promising to pay without fulfilling its promises.

“The three months arrears date back to 2019 when we entered, it was part of the reason some of our colleagues protested that led to their suspension before they were reinstated.

“As it is now, some of us have not being paid June salary and there is no assurance that we will pay the July salary.

“The hospital kept on making promises and calling meeting but we are tired of the meeting. 

“They should pay us the money they owe us. We have been given reassurance because it is the same story all over again every month,” the nurse said.

The affected nurses pleaded to the hospital management to clear all backlog of salary arrears.

Denying the claims by the nurses, Ige said the hospital had tried to ensure prompt payment of salaries of all staff across the board.

He, however, said the arrears being demanded by the nurses accrued during their employment process and probation period.

He said, “It is not true, when we were recruiting these nurses, we recruited the in batches and when they came in, we processed the salaries and it is not peculiar to our organisation.

“Different batches come on the payroll and there are pockets of them that are yet to get paid for July, August and September 2019 but we have ensured that everybody that has got on the payroll this year until May 2020.

“There are about 271 of them, those affected are not more than 50 nurses and there is no intention not to pay them. We are yet to pay this month and Ondo State has not paid June salary.”

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SaharaReporters, New York

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