FG To Recover Millions Wrongly Paid To 588 Doctors

The Federal Government will recover millions of naira wrongly
paid to 588 medical doctors across the country.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, stated this
when he fielded questions from State House correspondents in
Abuja.

He explained that affected doctors wrongly benefited from
Medical Residency Training Fund meant for particular category of
doctors.

He said the names of the doctors were uncovered after a thorough
scrutinization of the 8000 names submitted by Chief Medical
Directors of Federal Government health institutions for the
training programme.

The minister, however, revealed that a substantial amount of the
money had been refunded by some of the affected doctors while
efforts had been intensified to recover the remaining balance.

He maintained that the delay in making the refund by the
affected doctors was holding back the Residency Fund payment by the
government.

”Ministry of Health has gotten the list of doctors who
supposedly are to benefit from the Medical Residency Training
Fund.

”Total submission of about 8000 names were gotten and the
Ministry of Health is scrutinising them.

”We have done the first round of scrutinization and they will
now compare what they have with the Post-Graduate Medical College
and the Chief Medical Directors who submitted the names.

“The Association of Resident Doctors, in each of the tertiary
centres, worked with the CMDs to produce those names, but now that
the names are being verified.

”We discovered that about 2000 names shouldn’t be there because
they don’t have what is called Postgraduate Reference Numbers of
National Postgraduate Medical College and (or) that of the West
African Postgraduate Medical College.

“So, this is it and that is the only thing holding back the
Residency Fund payment because it is there already for… incurred
expenditure has been done by the Finance Minister and an it’s in
the Accountant-General’s office.,” he said.

”So, once they verify the authenticity of those they are
submitting, the Accountant-General will pay.

“We are doing that verification because we do not want what
happened last time in 2020 to reoccur.

”In 2020, the submitted names didn’t come through the
appropriate source, which is the Postgraduate Medical College and
payment was affected and it was discovered that about 588 persons,
who were not resident doctors benefited from such money.

”They are now finding it difficult to make the full refund. But
they have to refund that money. Some are refunding, but there is no
full consideration of the account.

”That account has to be reconciled to enable the accountants pay
the next round of funding for 2021,” he said.

On the ongoing strike by Resident Doctors, Ngige expressed the
readiness of the Federal Government to withdraw the case it
instituted against them, if they would go back to their duty
post.

He, however, insisted that the ‘no work, no pay’ policy of the
government would be observed because ”it is a global practice which
is also captured in Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act under the
International Labour Organization, ILO.”

The Federal Government will recover millions of naira wrongly
paid to 588 medical doctors across the country.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, stated this
when he fielded questions from State House correspondents in
Abuja.

He explained that affected doctors wrongly benefited from
Medical Residency Training Fund meant for particular category of
doctors.

He said the names of the doctors were uncovered after a thorough
scrutinization of the 8000 names submitted by Chief Medical
Directors of Federal Government health institutions for the
training programme.

The minister, however, revealed that a substantial amount of the
money had been refunded by some of the affected doctors while
efforts had been intensified to recover the remaining balance.

He maintained that the delay in making the refund by the
affected doctors was holding back the Residency Fund payment by the
government.

”Ministry of Health has gotten the list of doctors who
supposedly are to benefit from the Medical Residency Training
Fund.

”Total submission of about 8000 names were gotten and the
Ministry of Health is scrutinising them.

”We have done the first round of scrutinization and they will
now compare what they have with the Post-Graduate Medical College
and the Chief Medical Directors who submitted the names.

“The Association of Resident Doctors, in each of the tertiary
centres, worked with the CMDs to produce those names, but now that
the names are being verified.

”We discovered that about 2000 names shouldn’t be there because
they don’t have what is called Postgraduate Reference Numbers of
National Postgraduate Medical College and (or) that of the West
African Postgraduate Medical College.

“So, this is it and that is the only thing holding back the
Residency Fund payment because it is there already for… incurred
expenditure has been done by the Finance Minister and an it’s in
the Accountant-General’s office.,” he said.

”So, once they verify the authenticity of those they are
submitting, the Accountant-General will pay.

“We are doing that verification because we do not want what
happened last time in 2020 to reoccur.

”In 2020, the submitted names didn’t come through the
appropriate source, which is the Postgraduate Medical College and
payment was affected and it was discovered that about 588 persons,
who were not resident doctors benefited from such money.

”They are now finding it difficult to make the full refund. But
they have to refund that money. Some are refunding, but there is no
full consideration of the account.

”That account has to be reconciled to enable the accountants pay
the next round of funding for 2021,” he said.

On the ongoing strike by Resident Doctors, Ngige expressed the
readiness of the Federal Government to withdraw the case it
instituted against them, if they would go back to their duty
post.

He, however, insisted that the ‘no work, no pay’ policy of the
government would be observed because ”it is a global practice which
is also captured in Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act under the
International Labour Organization, ILO.”