Health workers pass vote of no confidence on minister

Call for restructuring of the ministry, balanced appointments

The Nigerian Health Workers on Tuesday passed a vote of no confidence on the Minster of Health prof. Isaac Adewole.

In a statement jointly signed by the Union, the Joint Health Sector Union and Assembly of Health Care Professionals, JOHESU/AHPA, the workers accused the Minister of showing favouritism to medical doctors.

They also demanded for a restructuring of the ministry to accommodate allied health professionals in the political leadership of the sector.

The association which has all health workers in the hospital aside medical doctors to include pharmacists, laboratory technologists and nurses accused Adewole and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who is also a medical doctor, of unwillingness to address the grievances of other professionals in the Nigerian health system.

While calling on the Federal Government to restructure appointments at the ministry to balance the interests of allied professionals, the union lamented that the plight of their members had been further worsened following the appointment of Amina Shamaki, who is also a medical doctor, as the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health.

According to them, the Minister of State, Osagie Ehanire; and the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Health, as well as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Ngige who is meant to be a mediator on workers plights; are all medical doctors and have been biased to members of their profession.

Olusegun Sotiloye, Chairman, University College Hospital, UCH, JOHESU chapter, who is also the Deputy President South, Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals, said that the union was forced to pass a vote of no confidence on the leadership of Adewole because he had shown himself to be the minister of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, and not that of the entire health sector.

“As far as he (the minister) is concerned, it is only the medical practitioners that are in the Ministry of Health, so that is why we are passing a vote of no confidence on him,” he said.

“The last time we had a good Minister of Health was in the time of Eyitayo Lambo. Since Lambo, all the other ones are jokers. What is happening now in the health sector was what happened during the tenures of Chukwu Onyebuchi and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti.

Doosuur Iwambe, Abuja