Ekiti Government on Wednesday approved the payment of Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to medical doctors on its payroll.
This was the outcome of a meeting held between the state governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose and leaders of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) in the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the two sides, however, agreed that the effective date of the new salary structure would be in March.
Fayose, speaking at the end of the meeting, said that the delay in endorsing the agreement was a result of the financial constraints facing the state.
“We don’t take welfare of our workers for granted, and we have been doing our best in that regard.
“We would have started paying before now, but due to the financial constraints we are facing in the state.
“Though, we ought to have done this before now, it is better late than never; we have agreed to start paying it by March this year.
“By the grace of God, we will keep to our promise.
“We hope that our doctors and workers generally will put up more efforts and deliver better and qualitative services to our people,” Fayose said.
In his remarks, Dr Sunday Omoya, the state Chairman of NMA, commended the state government for approving the new salary structure for doctors in the state.
“We have been on this issue for some months and we are happy that it has been resolved; the CONMESS is being paid at the federal level and in some states.
“We are happy that CONMESS has been approved; we are grateful to the governor for his support and promise to be more committed and improve on service delivery,” Omoya said. (NAN)
ARIS/HAS/GOK