15,000 Lives on the Line as Anambra Hospitals Set For Shutdown, Details Emerge
- Health workers in Anambra State are set to commence strike actions September 4, over non implementation of salary structure
- Salary structure approved by the FG for health workers since 2010 have been fully implemented in other states except Anambra
- 15-day ultimatum issued by Anambra health workers ends Sept. 3, and on Sept. 4, they'll withdraw every services in state owned health institutions
Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, Anambra State chapter, have concluded plans to embark on indefinite strike effective from Thursday, September 4, 2025; despite over 15,000 patients - including children, pregnant women, and others in intensive care units in health institutions across the state.
Comerade Charles Nwoye, chairman of the group, disclosed this yesterday during a chat with newsmen in Awka, the state capital.
Source: Original
The union of allied health professionals consist of pharmacists, physiotherapists, medical lab scientists, optometrists, radiographers, health information managers, dieticians, and others within the state's health sector.
The group claimed that Anambra state government has pushed them to the walls, and has refused to implement the salary structure approved for them since 2010, which they said, have been implemented in other states, including the five South eastern states.
He said:
"This current struggle started in 2024, when Anambra State heath workers requested that we should be paid in line with what the federal government approved for health workers in the country. The salary structure we're talking about was approved since 2010, and majority of the states have adopted and implemented it. All the states in the southeast have adopted it except Anambra.
"In December, 2024, we gave strike ultimatum that expired January 6, 2025. Before the end of the ultimatum, we had informal meeting with the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Solo Chukwudobelu, who gave us some hope, and encouraged us not to proceed on strike. Eight months down the line, nothing happened - nothing changed, and our members are not happy.
"At the midnight of September 4, 2025, our 15-day ultimatum will expire. On Thursday, September 4, we're going to withdraw our services, and there will be no going back."
Group complains of unfair treatment
Nwoye, flanked by the secretary of the union, Comrade Afam Udozor, and the deputy national secretary of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives, Dr. Ikedi Onah, reiterated the commitment of the health professionals towards making the Anambra state health sector move from strength to strength.
Source: Original
The group, however, regretted that despite their contributions to the health sector, their medical doctor counterparts in the state were being treated fairly, with full implementation of their salary structure, whereas they were being discriminated against.
According to him:
"We work as a team with doctors and nurses in Anambra hospitals, but regrettably, salary structure for both medical doctors and nurses in Anambra have been worked out and implemented fully; but ours have neither been worked out nor implemented. So, there is a selective treatment in this regard.
"As field workers in the health sector, our duty is to ensure smooth running of the health system. We're also aware that Governor Charles Soludo is keen to see the health sector work. We do not take our duties for granted because of the oat we took. We acknowledge that without us, a lot of things will go wrong in the hospitals. But when we take care of patients, but those who suppose to take care of us are not doing so, we can hardly give your best."
Nwoye noted with concern that over the years, the state employed many health professionals, who later left the state because of poor pay.
He added that as the state plans to engage more health workers in the near future, without adequate treatment and renumeration, the story will remain the same.
"We're not happy that we're proceeding on strike, because, with thousands of patients in hospitals across the state, no one knows whose life will be lost. It may be any of our children, brothers or sisters, or close relatives," he concluded.
Anambra gov't slammed for unseriousness
Deputy national secretary of National Association of Nurses and Midwives, Dr. Ikedi Onah, said there has been no seriousness on the side of Anambra State government on matters concerning health workers in the state.
According to him, the group has sent several letters to the Mr. Governor in that regard but no reply was received.
He also alleged that in a meeting held on the matters of wages with the Anambra SSG, the health workers were told to seek employment in other states that pay better if they were not comfortable with what they receive in Anambra.
Secretary of the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals, Anambra State, Comerade Afam Udozor, said that Soludo spent several billions of naira building infrastructure, including the state-of-the-art trauma center at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka, but that the governor forgot that professionals manning such infrastructure needs to be taken care of.
Gov't reacts to spiralling claims of negligence and irresponsibility
Reacting to the claims by the health workers, the Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, denied the claims that the state government is not serious about issues affecting health workers and professionals in the state.
In an exclusive chat with Legit.ng correspondent, Obidike said that he made several frantic moves aimed at assuaging the demands and addressing the concerns of the Anambra health workers.
The health commissioner said that out of three basic demands made by the health workers, the state government has been able to grant two.
He said that as health commissioner, he is working assiduously to ensure that what the health workers are demanding, in terms of better remuneration, is realized.
Obidike also informed that the state is engaging additional one hundred and fifty (150) health workers into the state's workforce. This, he said, will come with additional financial implications. He therefore, urged the group to be patient with the Soludo government, which he said, will take care of every demand of the workers.
On the proposed strike, the commissioner said he would do everything within his reach to ensure that it did not take effect.
He warned that the state's health system must not be halted for any reason; adding that the labour market has free entry and free exit, and that any health worker who is no more comfortable working in Anambra can disengage as a person, and should not put people's lives on the line by crippling the health system.
Armed vigilantes storm corpers' lodge
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a disturbing video had surfaced on social media showing armed vigilante operatives brutally assaulting a female corps member and her colleagues in Anambra state.
The operatives, identified as members of Operation Udo Ga-Achi, also known as the Agunechemba Vigilante Group, were seen storming a corps members’ lodge and attacking occupants despite their efforts to prove their identity.
Source: Legit.ng
Ibrahim Sofiyullaha (Editorial Assistant) Ibrahim Sofiyullaha is a graduate of First Technical University, Ibadan. He was the founder and pioneer Editor-in-Chief of a fast-rising campus journalism outfit at his university. Ibrahim is a coauthor of the book Julie, or Sylvia, written in collaboration with two prominent Western authors. He was ranked as the 9th best young writer in Africa by the International Sports Press Association. Ibrahim has contributed insightful articles for major platforms, including Sportskeeda in the UK and Motherly in the United States. Email: ibrahim.sofiyullaha@corp.legit.ng
Mokwugo Solomon (Anambra State Correspondent) Anambra's regional correspondent Mokwugwo Solomon is an Editor, Investigative Journalist, and Media Consultant, with a wealth of experience spanning 17 years. He bagged his B/Ed degree in English Education from University of Abuja, now Yakubu Gowon University. After 17 years in various areas of journalism, Mokwugwo Solomon is now the Correspondent of Legit.ng in Anambra State, Nigeria, where he applies his expertise to provide incisive coverage of events. Contact him at: mokwugwosolomon@gmail.com OR: +2348063831036.
