“BEFORE THEY GET AWAY WITH IT”: A COMMUNIQUÉ READ AT THE PRESS BRIEFING BY THE PRESIDENT OF ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENT DOCTORS, LTH, OSOGBO IN RESPONSE TO THE OSUN STATE GOVERNMENT’S PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

The Association of Resident Doctors, LTH, Osogbo, a centre affiliate of National Association of resident Doctors (NARD) is an umbrella body for all doctors in Residency Training Program in LAUTECH Teaching Hospital.
One of the aims of the body is to assist the Government and good people of the State in the provision of smooth, efficient and effective Health Care Delivery.

PREAMBLE:
We want to put on record that:
i. Association of Resident Doctors, LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Osogbo (ARD LTH) went on Industrial Strike Action on the 28th September, 2015
ii. It should be recalled that before the aforementioned date, ARD LTH Osogbo had endured several untoward hardship that was brought upon us by the State Government for three years.
It should also be recalled that in the last two years:
On one hand, ARD, LTH Osogbo had engaged the State Government on dialogue on several platforms;
We had made efforts to meet with the State Governor, Deputy Governor, Chief of Staff, Speaker and Members of House of Assembly especially House Committee on Health to discuss the various problems.
On the other hand, we had continued understand the plea of the State Government, to ensure uninterrupted health care delivery to the good people of Osun State.
We had also issued several Ultimata to the Government.
Sadly, all these did not yield any Positive Outcome.
iv. After years of such understanding, the State Of Our Welfare has become unjustifiable and worrisome, leading to inability to attend to our basic needs of life.

ISSUES
1a. the State Government has imposed the ‘PITAS’ tax system – Federal government tax system - which has added to the misery experienced by our members.
b. Our members are worse hit than other State Government staff because LTH has no Pension plan, no Housing plan etc.
c. This Tax system has not been fully implemented in any state of the Federation except in Lagos and Osun States.
d. While our members were trying to understand this hardship, the State Government again unilaterally started withholding a significant percentage of our salaries while promising us ‘Special Allowances’ without any formal or informal negotiations with the body.
e. The State Government persist to offer part payment, ignoring the fact that we are strict professionals and our job cannot be partly done and/or left unattended to.
f. The State Government has embarked on payment of a stipend which doesn’t equate to either a full or half salary.
g. One would think that the ideals of democracy should be the prevailing occurrence where democracy is seen as the government of the people, by the people and for the people. However, what we are presently experiencing is a false system of government - to say the least.
h. It should be stated emphatically that the last time our salary was paid was in June 2015.
i. Osun State Government has owed us 6 months till date.
j. Also, the State Government has paid us a stipend, between July and September 2015.
k. We still await a statement from the Government to explain whether this stipend is part of our salary or a “Do-Not-Die-But-Continue-To-Work” wages.

l. Again for emphasis, it should be noted that ARD LTH, Osogbo earns a consolidated salary system and as such not entitled to car loans/allowance, housing loans/allowance, leave bonus/allowance etc hence one wonders how ‘special allowances’ deal will be applicable.

2 a. Curiously, the State Government has continued to ignore the Federal Government-approved Adjusted CONMESS & Relativity payment to our doctors in the hospital, despite implementing the Federal Government Tax for this Salary Scale in full.
b. This action of the government is totally against the provision of the edict establishing our dear Teaching Hospital.
c. This is a clear case of ‘Double Standard’ and ‘Selective Abstraction’.
d. In Mathematical expression, as a result of the above, our present pay is one-quarter of that of our other colleagues in other State and Federal Institutions and our tax double theirs.
e. Our members cannot obviously meet their obligations again!!
f. Ladies and Gentlemen, there is only one term to explain this; it is ‘ECONOMIC GENOCIDE’
g. In principle, it should be noted that the Nigerian public do not differentiate between doctors in a State Teaching Hospital like ours and a Federal Teaching Hospital; they all expect to get the same level of Health Care Delivery.
h. We must also alert the good people of the state of Osun that our Best brains’ in the health sector are exiting the state and this portrays danger, if not arrested now!!
3 a. Our members have not had access to Pay-Slips in the last one year, a development that is not just worrisome but sickening. (The last Pay Slip gotten in November and December 2014 were in sharp contrast to the ‘Take Home.’)
b. A situation we hope EFCC and ICPC will resolve.
4a. Again, the management of LTH, Osogbo and the State Government over the years had refused to make funds available for Residency Training Programme in the hospital.
b. Of note is the financial contribution from doctors from sister institutions, which was a singular way out for members to write the last West Africa and National Postgraduate Examinations.
c. This means that our members had funded themselves for various Local and International Update Courses, National Examinations and Outside Postings.
d. It should be noted that these costs run into excesses of several hundreds of thousands of naira for each member on a yearly basis.

OBSERVATIONS
1a. That the Osun State Government wants to tell the good people of Osun that they run a Teaching Hospital and fund a reputable Residency Training Programme, while facts on ground suggest otherwise.
b. That the Osun State Government wants to eat their cake and have it at the detriment of the staff of the hospital and the good people of Osun State.
2. That the ARD, LTH, Osogbo is not interested in unnecessary Industrial Action in the interest of the good people of Osun State.
b. That the welfare of the good people of Osun State remains important to us.
c. But that we cannot continue to accept this level of Neglect and Insensitivity to us.
3a. Let it be clear that no amount of Intimidation or Ground Standing will make us go back to work at our own peril and at the risk of mismanaging the good people of Osun State.
b. This is Injustice and abuse of Rule of Law.



At this juncture, we want to put it on record that in the course of our discussions, we have proffered the Way Forward in terms of available options but it seems that the government of the day is hell bent on allowing the impasse to continue.
We therefore call on well meaning Nigerians, sons and daughters of Osun State to rescue the Health Care System of the State.

APPRECIATION
We appreciate His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari for his positive response to the suffering of the good people of Osun with release of bailout fund earlier in the year.
We appreciate the State Security Service, the Nigerian Police Force, the gentlemen of the Press for their professionalism, NARD and NMA.

ON THE LAST NOTE; TO WHOM NOTHING IS GIVEN, NOTHING IS EXPECTED.

Thank you all.

Long Live ARD, LTH Osogbo!!
Long Live NARD!!
Long Live NMA!!
Long Live Osun State

APC with bad government let it be that is goat is a PDP member now, they would have been calling for his head.

Who cares.

APC ndi aru!

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IbokUtoroh:
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