FG Reveals When Health Workers Will Get Hazard Allowance

The Federal Government of Nigeria on Thursday, August 6 revealed when health workers in the country will start receiving their COVID-19 hazard allowances.

According to the government in a statement today by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, the medical personnel will next from coming week start getting payment of the June hazard allowance.

The minister after a meeting with the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors in Abuja noted that the government would commence payment with just six hospitals and thereafter settle others when more funds are available.

Ngige in the statement entitled, ‘FG to pay medical workers’ hazard allowance next week,’ signed by the Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Charles Akpan, noted that the Federal Ministry of Health, and the Budget Office of the Federation, working in tandem with the Federal Ministry of Finance, had rectified the problem in the budget while the processing would kick off with the payment soon.

He said, “Teaching hospitals and medical centres had been directed to submit to the Ministry of Health, the list of names of their personnel who had some hitches in receiving their payments, the names would then be forwarded to IPPIS (Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System) from there.”

“The issue of shortfall in payments had also been dealt with as the names of the affected persons would be compiled and forwarded to the ministry of finance,” Naija News quoted Ngige saying.

According to the minister, “the case of the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital had been amicably resolved, with the Chief Medical Director bringing back the interdicted resident doctors.”

He explained further that factions thrown up by the crisis in the local chapter of NARD has been peacefully merged.

“Elections have been conducted to elect an interim executive to man the affairs of that chapter till December 2020, after which a fresh election would hold for a new executive that would take over in 2021,” Ngige noted.

Meanwhile, the administrator of the Organised Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), Zouera Youssoufou on Thursday, August 6 disclosed that about ten million Nigerians will share N23bn worth of palliative.