Medical professionals employed by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) in May 2023 have expressed deep dissatisfaction over unpaid salaries and inadequate compensation for the past year.

FIJ learnt that the grievances arose when the FCTA failed to pay the workers’ salaries between May and October of 2023, while also cutting some of their allowance.

Samuel Aniche, an obstetrician and gynaecologist at Yanyan General Hospital, told FIJ he was fed up with the job and was considering leaving. The government had simply ignored their pleas for their withheld salaries.

Aniche explained that many of them resumed in May 2023 and worked without pay until November when the government began paying them. But even at that, some allowances meant for them were excluded from their monthly payments.

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“They pay us N251,000 but if we were paid what we should be earning it would be much higher. We don’t even know the exact amount because they don’t give us our payslips, and we’ve been banned from protesting for our money,” Aniche told FIJ on Wednesday.

He revealed that medical staff protested the nonpayment of their owed salaries in May 2024, but their efforts were met with a letter from ‘above’ stating that they should be grateful they were employed.

“There was a day I attended to 80 patients on my own. Sometimes, I spent 24 hours in the office. I requested leave, but they denied it claiming there were no capable replacements. So, I decided to take leave on my own,” Aniche added.

“The offer letter stated we would be paid N148,000, but it did not specify the additional allowances. That’s what they cut because we’re left in the dark. We’ve also been warned that if we resign, we’ll lose the expected six months’ salary.”

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He added that the bureaucratic runaround was exhausting: “When you go to the director-general, they’ll refer you to the mandate secretary, who will then send you to the permanent secretary, and then the minister.”

Another doctor, who requested anonymity, told FIJ that when they asked for their salary arrears, senior officials warned them that their names were still written in pencil.

The senior officials informed them that protesting would lead to dismissal.

She further explained that, after they resumed work on May 8, 2023, they were informed that their details would take three months to process but this was not the case.

“Most of us worked six months straight without getting paid, not even for the initial 28 days. We survived by borrowing from one loan app to another. Our arrears and allowances are still unpaid,” she told FIJ on Wednesday.

“We’ve written letters to Nyesom Wike (the FCT minister), but nothing concrete has come out of it. We had no choice but to stage a peaceful demonstration on May 29, but the permanent secretary said it was against civil service rules and that we were fortunate to be employed.”

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She added that they were assured of payment by June 29, but nothing had been done.

“Apart from the salary arrears, we’re still owed the wage award and skipping allowance. We’ve been told that we’re just waiting for the minister’s approval, but no money has been disbursed yet,” she said.

When FIJ called the FCTA, the phone lines did not connect. FIJ is expecting responses to the text it sent to the FCTA on Wednesday too.

The hospital management board had not responded to the email FIJ sent to it on Wednesday.