Doctors, nurses tackle NPHCDA, Sydani group over unpaid salaries

Doctors, nurses and Community Health Extension Workers under the Expanded Midwives Service Scheme faulted the National Primary Health Care Development Agency and Sydani Group over alleged four-month unpaid salary arrears.

The eMSS was implemented by the Federal Government through the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency as part of efforts to improve maternal and child health in the country.

Sydani Group, however, offers technical support to NPHCDA.

Speaking with our correspondent, Dr Nafisa Muhammad, who works at the Primary Health Care Centre in Dije Bala and Madalla, Niger State, said she resigned from her former place of work to take up the new employment with eMSS but has not been paid for four months.

“In the appointment letter, it stated that our appointment was to take effect from July 1st, 2023 to July 1st, 2024, and we were asked to resign from our previous place of work to take up the new appointment which we all did.

“Few days to the end of June, we were sent a message to hold on with assumption of duty till further notice, meanwhile, we had resigned from our previous work place. We were later sent a message to assume duty on August 1st, which we did. It’s been four months now, and we have not received any form of payment from them, it has been one excuse or the other, and it is exhausting.

“Most of us were posted to a place far from our residential areas, we spend nothing less than N4,000 for transportation daily. This is really hard on us considering the economic crisis in the country, this has made most of us to resort into loans and other means of survival,” she said.

A nurse on the Rivers State Primary Health Care Board under the eMSS programme, Walter Elsie, decried the hardship the non-payment of the salary has caused.

“I was employed through Sydani. They did the online screening, interview and orientation.
Though we were told that its a NPHCDA programme in partnership with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and others. Then, orientation was done in June, and we were given enjoyment letters to commence work on July 1st.

“We were also asked to resign from our previous place of work, but from July till date, we have not seen any salary. We became curious in September and started asking questions and sending them mails, then they managed to pay five persons out of over 100 staff in Rivers state.

“They said they misplaced the account details of the rest that were not paid. Hence they brought another account details and email form which we filled that September. Since then till now they keep telling us that they are imputing our name in GIFMIS platform to be paid. But, we haven’t been paid,” Elsie lamented.

Another nurse, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of intimidation, said the staff under the scheme are suffering.

“For fours months now and it’s even getting to five months, Sydani Group and NPHCDA have refused to pay us. We have written to them countless times and all we keep getting is empty promises upon promise.

“By all indication, it appears they do not want to pay us. The agonising part is that we are just contract staff for one year, we are suffering and they don’t want to us. We are paid as low as N45,000 monthly, and we are over 1,500 contract staff across the country. Still, they are not moved in any way,” the nurse stated.

A CHEW, Adagu Agu, at a Primary Health Care Centre in Mararaba, Nasarawa state also lamented the delay in payment of his salary arrears.

Adagu said, “We had a contract signed since July 1st, and have all been committed to our own part, sadly 99 per cent of us have not been paid.”

An analyst at Sydani Group, Leyira Ken, confirmed that the organisation has received several letters from the eMSS employees regarding their payment.

“Sydani is not the employer in this eMSS project, NPHCDA is the employer, we were just contracted to conduct technical support

“We have communicated with them, and we told them to direct their grievances to NPHCDA. I understand that it is taking some time but we have giving them assurance that they will be paid,” he said.

Efforts to reach Itoro Ata, the Secretary to the Executive Director of the NPHCDA, Dr Muyi Aina, proved abortive.

She also did not take her calls and has yet to respond to a text message sent to her.