Pharmacists seek audit of 55 health institutions

ALLEGING usage of funds not appropriated, the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) has urged the anti-graft agencies to audit all the 55 federal health institutions across the country and sanction all culpable Chief Medical Directors (CMD) and Chief Executive Officers (CEO).

It equally stated that since the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and all its appendages are not trade unions, they should not be bargaining for privileges for their members, much less undertake industrial actions.

In a statement yesterday, the PSN President, Olumide Akintayo, faulted a recent communiqué advocating that the Federal Government should factor payments accruing from the skipping of salary scale to doctors in the federal health institutions in the 2016 budget.

Akintayo said the communiqué, which was read by one of the 55 CMDs, as usual, had no consideration for the welfare of other health workers but doctors. Therefore, “our position that the appointment of doctors as CEOs of federal health institutions is one of the major precursors of avoidable stress junctions is confirmed by this unfortunate development.

“As far back as 2010, some cadre of health workers were granted concession to skip the Consolidated Health Salary Scheme (CONHESS) 10 by the National Industrial Court, yet these same CEOs have frustrated the plans to pay these entitlements, except in a few notable cases.

“It is embarrassing that while some of the federal health institutions have not paid allowances that have been due since 2010, they are bothered about payments that have only been approved through circulars in the past six months.

“For the records, the umbrella body of some cadres even cite situations where some CMDs have been quoted as paying the skipping dues of doctors through internally generated revenues, a development that amounts to illegality, as such funds were never appropriated by the National Assembly in the first instance.