Breaking: Jubilation as APC Governor Announces N300k Monthly Allowance for Doctors

• Kogi Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo has approved the sum of N300,000 as a monthly allowance for doctors in the state's health sector
• Governor Ododo explained that the move was to curb the growing brain drain in the sector, popularly referred to as Japa
• Governor Ododo announced the development while speaking at the launch of Access to Health Care for 76,000 civil servants

Governor Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi has announced the approval of N300,000 monthly allowances for serving medical doctors in the state government-owned hospitals.

The move was to encourage them to stay on the job and stop brain drain, which is popularly known as the Japa syndrome.

Governor Ododo announced the development while speaking at the launch of Access to Health Care for 76,000 civil servants at the local governments, students in tertiary institutions and pensioners. The event was held at the Lugard House in Lokoja on Monday, September 29.

The beneficiaries included 28,056 local government civil servants under the public sector plan, the pension contributory health insurance plan has 3,427 enrollees and 44,760 students under the tertiary institution health insurance programme.

Leadership reported that Governor Ododo explained that the announcement became necessary to curb the mass movement of medical doctors from the state to other countries across the globe in search of greener pastures.

The governor expressed his worries about the growing rate of brain drain among medical personnel because of poor welfare and salary packages that the doctors are currently experiencing across the country. He vowed that his government would tackle the challenges headlong.

He also assured that his government will not relent in the bid to provide opportunities that would grant access to quality healthcare for the citizens.

Ododo said that the state was proud to join the global health insurance scheme to cater for the health of the common people. He urged the people of the state to seize the opportunity and enrol as individuals, families and groups with the Kogi State Health Insurance Agency.

The governor then directed that the state executive council members should adopt the enrollment of 50 persons each into the insurance schemes. Also, the governor's special advisers and chief executive officers in the state's agencies have been ordered to enrol 20 people each, while senior special assistants are to enrol five people each.

Ododo, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governor of the north-central state, then directed the executive secretary of the Kogi State Health Insurance Agency to compile names of those who have complied with his directive and forward them to him within three months.

Source: Legit.ng