Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has approved a five per cent increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) of medical doctors in the state. Oshiomhole said this on Thursday, when he received the National Secretary General of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Adewunmi Alayaki and executives of the state chapter of the union at the Government House, Benin City. He said:
“I believe wages and payment of wages is a right and not a privilege you dispense when you are comfortable and I want us to retain the best brains in our hospitals. “I have argued in previous foras that our doctors are not inferior to any other doctor including those working for the Federal Government and therefore, there is ordinarily no reason why our doctors should earn N1 less than any other doctor of the same qualification in any other part of the country”, he said.
“Having done my home work today, it doesn’t matter what the implications are, we will increase the wages of medical doctors by five per cent so it will go from 90 per cent to 95 per cent.
My intention was that we will flatten it out, but I’m not sure of the numbers because the health sector accounts for a chunk of our wage bill as their pay is much more attractive than regular civil servants.
So, right away, notwithstanding the challenges we face, we will grant five per cent increase and I believe in the future, whatever is left will be levelled out.” Oshiomhole explained that: “Many of my colleagues when they read that Comrade has further increased Edo’s doctors pay by five per cent, will think I am crazy.”
