…..Ondo NMA Chairman Dr. Stella Adegbehingbe Gives Stewardship of her achievements.
By: Ade Adeleke
The Ondo State Chairman of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Mrs. Stella Adegbehingbe has explained and offered solutions on how the Ondo State government and Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu can stop mass exodus of health workers in the state saying regular payment salaries to them will go a long way in reducing the brain drain hitting the sector.
This is just as the NMA Chairman rolled out underscored the need for the state government to ensure regular payment of salaries saying it is the only solution to brain drain.
Dr. Mrs. Adegbehingbe made this remarks during an interactive session with journalists to unveil some of the line up of activities marking 2022 Conference of the Association in the state, noting that her members and most nurses are owing four months salaries while introduction of percentage salaries last year caused the exit of many doctors from the state health sector.
Giving an account of her stewardship in the last 2 years, Dr. Mrs. Adegbehingbe said under her watch, NMA clinic was completed and delivered as well as members welfare prioritized just as the state chapter now has a functional website.
She also hinted that her team made history as the first to document Ondo NMA history and has gone a step further to institute an ongoing review of the constitution and bye laws with the hope of getting it ratified before end of its tenure.
While also noting that it has been very challenging, Dr. Mrs. Adegbehingbe said Ondo State is worst hit in terms of Medical doctors and other health workers leaving the service of the state government in the South-west, due to non payment of salaries and other allowances.
“On the issue of brain drain of Medical doctors and other health workers, we have not started to feel the impact yet because it is going to be very massive. It is not only in ondo state, though Ondo State is the worst hit in the South West and that is the truth. The national body and the state body of NMA have been engaging the government”.
“Immediately the percentage payment started, we knew there would be problems. We also appealed to the government to be proactive so that these Medical doctors would be encouraged because once they start leaving, to get them back will be very difficult,” Adegbehingbe said.
“Unfortunately, nothing was done and that was why at the beginning of my tenure, there were series of strikes and by the time we last went on strike, I told the government that there will no longer be strike because there will be no doctors to go on strike”, she added stressing that the only solution to brain drain is the regular payment of salary”
“Now, government wants to employ more doctors but people are not coming because in the medical world, Ondo State has been blacklisted and no one wants to come and work in here”, she added.
On the line up of programmes for 2022 conference, Dr. Mrs. Adegbehingbe said the activities will come to a climax on Thursday for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and end on Friday at a Jumat service.
While also thanking the body of doctors in the state for reposing trust in her ability to be of service, Dr. Mrs. Adegbehingbe thanked the state government for its contributions towards the completion of the NMA Clinic.
Dr. Mrs. Adegbehingbe’s tenure as the chairman is expected to end at the end of this year’s AGM as the association has begun the process of getting a successor in office.
