Governors of the 36 states of the federation on the platform of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) have rejected planned imposition of the proposed health workers allowance tagged “hazard allowance” by the Federal Ministry of Health.
In a communique issued at the end of the virtual meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) presided over by President Yemi Osinbajo, the governors said each state should be presented with general guidance to enable it negotiate with its health workers based on its ability to pay.
The federal government had last month disclosed that a total of 55,031 health workers in 35 hospitals and medical centres designated for COVID-19 have been paid special hazard allowances totalling N4,642,485,146.00, which led to the suspension of strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
The federal government also announced that N9 billion was paid as premium for Group Life Insurance to all health workers.
Chairman of the NEC ad hoc committee interfacing with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to ease the lockdown and Governor of Delta state, Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, said the committee recommended that the Minister of Health should ensure the continuous provision of all essential health services in-order to ensure that people do not die from other diseases needlessly.
He also recommended “that there should be rapid testing, tracing, isolation and treatment, and the NCDC and PTF should provide each State with laboratory testing facilities and ensure effective sample collection.
“The Presidential Task Force (PTF) should provide the operating guidelines to the States to enable them domesticate the same given their peculiarities, norms and traditions, especially in opening of markets, religious places and schools etc,” he said.
