Kogi medics seek speedy implementation of new pay

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State has inaugurated two panels to return Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to six border communities with Cameroon.

The communities in Gwoza and Marte councils that were severally attacked by Boko Haram terrorists in the last decade include Marte, Kirawa, Ngoshe, Hambagtha, Asghashiya and Warabe.

Inaugurating the panels led by two commissioners – that of Housing and Energy, Yuguda Saleh, and Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RRR), Mustapha Gubio, in Maiduguri yesterday, Zulum directed the establishment of civil authorities in Marte and Gwoza councils.

He added that all safety measures and essential public services had been put in place, assuring that the state government would engage the returnees in agricultural and other economic activities.

IN the same vein, medical doctors in Kogi State have pleaded with the state government to prioritise the implementation of the Revised 2014 Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) earlier agreed to kick off in September 2020.

The state chairman, Nigerian Medical Association, (NMA), Dr. Simeon Oyiguh, disclosed this yesterday when members of the association visited the Olu of Oworo land HRM Mohammed Adoga Baiyerohi, Agbosi II, in Lokoja.

Dr. Oyiguh noted that their counterparts in the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja, and other neighbouring states had been enjoying the new pay for over six years, stressing that they were yet to even negotiate with the government to implement the new minimum wage since the funds accruing to the state is dwindled.

“Doctors in Kogi were really disappointed when they discovered that the 2014 CONMESS, which the government promised to start implementing in September, never saw the light of day.

“The government in power assured us, but later dashed the hope of our members. We are optimistic that they won’t fail us in the month of October,” he said.

Responding, the Agbosi II admonished the doctors to dialogue with the government in patience and humility.