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OAU hospital workers protest 10 months’ unpaid salaries

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Some medical workers of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun State have tackled the management for allegedly subjecting them to penury over 10 months of unpaid salaries.

The employees, who spoke with newsmen in different interviews on Wednesday, lamented that they had resorted to begging to feed their families due to the hardship the non-payment of salaries subjected them to.

One of the employees who identified himself simply as Ben decried that he had become incapable of feeding his family because of the non-payment of his salary since he joined the service of the OAUTH on December 13, 2022.

“I was given an appointment letter on December 13, 2022, after the completion of my medicals. I was posted to the place of my primary assignment. Since then, we have been in this sorry-case situation; no salary was paid to me as a staff member. I have rented an apartment and did a lot of things with my savings in the hope of recovering it when they would start paying me, but nothing came out from it,” he lamented.

Another employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being penalised, stressed that the non-payment of salary and some unfair policies ravaging the health sector in Nigeria were factors forcing brains out of the country.

He said, “Some of the reasons why our medical practitioners such as doctors, pharmacists, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, physiotherapists, radiographers etc. are leaving the country to the US, other European and African countries is because the ones that are working in Nigeria are suffering.

“Imagine a medical staff member working in a Federal Government teaching hospital for over 10 months without being paid one kobo because we have not been captured by the IPPIS due to one or two reasons best known to the ministry and the hospital management. Many lives are already miserable, Staff members are living in debt, families are breaking, many are not able to pay their children’s school fees, and some are depressed. How do you want that same worker to attend to a patient?”

He noted that all efforts to ensure that their pleas were attended to proved abortive while appealing to the relevant authorities to come to their aid.

“In the past, various health unions such as JOHESU had embarked on strike actions in solidarity with the newly employed staff to persuade the management to pay salaries but these steps yielded no positive result because the employees were always forced or threatened back to work by the ministry of health.

“In September 2023, some officials of the Ministry of Health came to the hospital to carry out a verification for the new staff members. It’s two months ago and till this moment, we have not heard anything from them. The staff members are still working, suffering and smiling.

“To well-meaning Nigerians and the constituted authorities, please save the soul of the newly employed staff of the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital,” he concluded.

When contacted, the Chief Medical Director of OAUTH, John Okeniyi, directed our correspondent to a tweet by the Minister for Health, Muhammed Ali Pate, while stating that he could not make an official comment on the matter.

“I am not able to grant you any interviews formally or otherwise at this time because the Hon. Minister of Health (FMoHSW) has waded into this matter and I can only direct you to see his response to the issue on his Twitter (X) handle. I am awaiting directives from the FMoHSW.”

Pate had in a tweet on his verified X handle on October 13, noted that the investigation had been completed and the issue would be resolved soonest.

“We are addressing the OAUTH situation. The investigation has just been completed on this unfortunate situation. We understand the difficulties being faced by numerous innocent health workers and will do our best to resolve it equitably,” he had tweeted.

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US government returns $52.88m linked to Diezani

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The Government of the United States of America, USA, has repatriated the sum of $52. 88 million it said was traced to former Petroleum Resources Minister Diezani Madueke.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Richard M. Mills, Jr, led a delegation that executed the Assets Return Agreement at the Federal Ministry of Justice Headquarters in Abuja, on Friday.

Signing the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, disclosed that the $52.88m arose from the forfeiture of Galactica assets, linked to the ex-Minister and her associates.

The AGF maintained that the development was not only a testament to the unwavering commitment of both nations to fight corruption but also signified the commitment of the USA to facilitate restitution and support integrity and accountability in governance.

“Measures have also been put in place to ensure that the repatriated funds are not only disbursed but also utilized transparently and accountably by the World Bank and IIJ, with periodic reports to be forwarded to Nigeria and the US on the implementation of the projects.

“This robust framework will guarantee that the funds are effectively used for the full benefit of the Nigerian people in line with UNCAC and the Global Forum on Asset Recovery (GFAR) principles,” the AGF added.

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Task force official wrestles steering wheel with driver in Edo

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A video showing an official of the Edo state Public Response Safety Team (PRST) wrestling with a bus driver to take over the steering wheel has surfaced on social media.

In the video, the PRST official is seen violently struggling to take over the steering wheel of a moving vehicle from a bus driver, as passengers were heard pleading with them to bring the vehicle to a stop.

However, in a statement on Thursday, Kelly Okungbowa, the coordinator of PRST, said the official involved in the incident has been sacked.

Okungbowa, who apologised for the conduct of the official, said he was relieved of his duty to serve as a deterrent to others.

“First of all, I want to apologise to the general public for the conduct of our officer in that viral video. There is no perfect society, and the person that erred in that video has been sacked to serve as a deterrent to every member of the commission,” the statement reads.

“I wish to tell the drivers that we are not their enemies, but their friends. Ours is to make sure that we do what is right by ensuring that there is order in Edo state, most especially in Benin City.

The PRST coordinator condemned the driver for taking the official to an unknown destination, causing him to resort to “self-help” during the incident.

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Lagos police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin promoted to CSP

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Public Relations Officer of Lagos State Police Command, Benjamin Hundeyin, has been promoted to Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).

Hundeyin took over from Adekunle Ajisebutu as Lagos police spokesman in 2022 while he was Superintendent of Police (SP).

On Wednesday, he shared photos of himself being decorated by Lagos police commissioner, Ishola Olawale.

“Behold the latest Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) in town. It is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in our eyes,” Hundeyin wrote on X.

Hundeyin holds a BA (Hons) in English Language from the Lagos State University and an MSc in Legal Criminology and Security Psychology from the University of Ibadan.

He also holds a certificate in Civil-Military Coordination from the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peacekeeping Training Centre, Jaji, Kaduna.

He is an associate of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), member of the International Public Relations Association (IPRA) and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM).

Hundeyin was a one-time PPRO at the Zone 2 Command Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos and was a member of the Nigerian contingent to the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur, Sudan (UNAMID) in 2020.

He was the administration officer at the Force Public Relations Department, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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