…Says Ehanire is worst health minister
By Hassan Zaggi
Health workers under the umbrella of Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to take advantage of his remaining few days in office to approve and implement the Technical Committee Report on the adjustment of CONHESS.
Speaking at a peaceful protest in Abuja, Wednesday, the group demanded for justice, fair play and equity in the manner and way practitioners in the health sector were being treated.
The Spokesperson of the group, Dr. Ogbonna Chimela, called on the National Assembly, especially Senators – elect and House of Representatives Members — elect to “normalize and do away with the perennial entropy that continue to engulf the Health Sector where productivity is at the lowest ebb by only facilitating the appointment of seasoned Administrators and Managers of cognate experience as Ministers in charge of the Health Sector.”
This is even as the group insisted that Dr. Osagie Ehanire, remained the worst Minister of Health Nigeria has ever had.
Speaking on the rationale behind the peaceful protest, Dr. Ogbonna said: “We are compelled to embark on this protest rally to draw attention of the National Assembly to the unending vicious cycle of tyranny vested against members of affiliate of the Joint Health Sector Unions members of the respective affiliate of JOHESU in the health sector by the physicians dominated and oriented Federal Ministry of Health.
“For the sake of clarity, we shall highlight the major issues which include wage and benefits of non-physician health professionals and workers; appointment of physicians as ministers and Chief Executive Officers of Ministry and parastaials in the Health Sector; negation of Consultant cadre for non-physician Health Professionals in Federal Health Institutions (FHIs) and outstanding payment of allowances to health workers.”
Other areas, he said, “the mode of payment of all health workers in Nigeria is Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) while Physicians are on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).
“As at 2009, the Memorandum of Understanding at the inception of these two salary structures and subsequent Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Federal Government and the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) established strongly that once there is an adjustment in any of the salary structure, the other structure should be adjusted commensurately.
“The last three successively Physician Health Ministers in the last 12 years that is; Prof. C Chukwu (2011-2015), Prof. Isaac Adewole (2015-2019), and the present Minister Dr. Ehanire Osagie (2019-Date) have deliberately truncated the adjustment of CONHESS on 4 occasions since January 2, 2014 (nine and a half years ago) when the first adjustment of CONMESS for Physicians took place and subsequently in 2017, 2018 and now May, 2023.
“This social injustice and discriminatory adjustment championed by the Federal Ministry of Health in favour of the Physicians and to the great disadvantage of other health workers lead to a trade dispute declared by the Joint Health sector Unions (JOHESU) in September, 2021.”
On his part, the National President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria and Chairman, Assembly of Health Care Professional Association in Nigeria, Prof James Garba Damian, insisted that the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, is leaving the health sector with a bad record of poor performance.
“The minister of health has done very badly for the past eight years that he has been minister of health.
“We are saying that he is leaving this government with a very bad record.
“We are also calling on the incoming government to now know that if they want to reposition the health sector, they must take some proactive steps to make sure they change the structure in the federal ministry of health,” he argued.
Prof. Damian, however, explained that: “We are here to educate the public because Nigeria is a country, fortunately, God has blessed us with a lot of human and natural resources but the leaders in the health sector are not utilizing the blessings that God has given this country for the benefit of humanity, most especially, in the health sector.
“That is why you see on a daily basis, people are traveling outside the country to assess health care.
“As professionals in the health sector, we have the competence, all that we need is the infrastructure that will help us to practice within the competence that we have.
“If you look at the policies Nigerian government have in place, it is not helping anyone of us and we are saying no to it because we are trained professionals.
“There should be equity, there should be justice and fair play in the system.
“The leadership at the federal ministry of health are not being fair to Nigerians. All the decisions they are taking, they are not carrying all the health professionals along. Circulars that have been released, negotiations that have been agreed and signed, implementation is a problem.
“Some of our association had to go to the court for the interpretation of our Act, but you discover that the Federal Ministry of Health deliberately trampled on our Act.
“The constitution of our governing boards, the federal ministry of health always refuse to complete the process. They will just sit there and be doing what the governing boards are supposed to do. We are saying enough of this lawlessness. We can no longer take it.
“All we are saying is that all of us should be treated equally. Let us all be treated as Nigerians. Nigerians must rise and speak out. What we are saying here is not only for our welfare alone but we are speaking on behalf of all Nigerians that there should be a better health system.”
