Ondo FMC interns protest unpaid salaries
Interns of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, have protested over unpaid three months’ salary by the Federal Government.
The protesters, on Monday, welded placards with different inscriptions while calling attention to their plight.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the interns were not paid salaries in the first three months, so the initial payment was paid in the fourth month which covered only two months.
The government was said not to have paid salaries for the remaining two months.
One of the protesters who identified himself simply as Yinka, told our correspondents that the non-payment was attributed to failed payment by the FG.
He said, “The internship is a one-year programme, so we started our internship in July 2023, and we did documentation immediately. We had to wait until October before we received payment, and to our surprise, it was for September and October alone.
“We have been going there to make inquiry about our outstanding payments, but they told us they are not the ones paying us, and the money is coming directly from the Federal Government.
“The Federal Government said there was a problem with payment because it failed, so they were on it since that time till the new year. All the interns from each department in the hospital are up to 100. Note, it is not only interns that they are owing. They are owing the corps members, and some workers as well.
When contacted, the spokesperson for the medical centre, Ijanusi Gbadebo, said the management was trying to find a solution to the payment issue with the FG, and everyone affected would be paid.
“The management is not owing them up to that. It has been resolved, the issue is with them and IPPIS, it is not the management’s fault. To the best of my knowledge, the issue is not peculiar to FMC Owo, it is a nationwide issue
“My MD and the Head of Finance are currently in Abuja over the issue. Within some days, they will begin to receive alerts. They are on top of it,” he said.
