Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has assured striking workers at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, that his administration will address their outstanding demands.
Makinde gave the assurance during a meeting with stakeholders at the teaching hospital on Thursday, according to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Sulaimon Olarenwaju, in Ibadan on Friday.
The governor said the state’s wage bill had risen sharply despite increased federal allocations, putting pressure on its finances and limiting its ability to meet competing obligations.
“Despite public assumptions about increased Federal allocations, Oyo’s wage bill has risen sharply from ₦4.5 billion in 2019 to ₦18 billion in 2026. Issues including salary arrears, minimum wage arrears, promotion arrears, and the Medical Residency Training Bill would be resolved promptly,” he said.
He appealed to the workers to consider the state’s financial challenges and urged them to call off the strike to allow discussions on their demands to progress.
Makinde said major infrastructure projects had also become more expensive because of inflation and wider economic pressures.
He cited the 76-kilometre Iseyin–Fapote–Ogbomoso Road, which cost N43 billion in 2023 but would now require at least N200 billion to execute.
“Initially, I didn’t want to respond to those who are on strike. But if there are challenges, we must find ways to solve them. You put this government in place. The first step is for you to call off the strike, and once you assure me of that, we can move forward. This is our state; how we lay our bed is how we will lie on it,” he said.
The governor reiterated that the state would pay the N162 million in salary arrears owed to workers.
“When I assumed office in 2019, FAAC was around ₦6–7 billion, and the first salary bill I signed was ₦4.5 billion. Today, the same road project we executed for ₦43 billion would cost ₦200 billion. That is our situation. The ₦162 million salary arrears owed to workers would be paid.”
Makinde said the October salary bill had already been prepared and signed, adding that the outstanding arrears would be paid by mid-November.
He noted that although he had about seven months left in office, he remained committed to resolving outstanding issues before the end of his administration.
Medical residency bill, other arrears
The governor also pledged to sign the Medical Residency Training Bill once he received the clean copies of the legislation.
“The Medical Residency Training Bill will be signed once I receive the clean copies. Our target is the first week of November,” he said.
Addressing concerns raised by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), Makinde said N38 million in minimum wage and promotion arrears covering October, November and December 2024 would be cleared.
“I will look for ₦200 million so that once salaries are paid, we can settle these arrears, hopefully before mid-November,” he added.
In another intervention, the governor approved an increase in the monthly pay of cleaners at the teaching hospital from N15,000 to N80,000, aligning their salaries with the national minimum wage.
The decision followed an appeal by the cleaners during his visit.
Health officials appeal for cooperation
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, thanked Makinde for his support for the health sector and assured workers that the administration was committed to ending recurring strikes.
The Chief Medical Director of LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Professor Olawale Olakulehin, and the board chairman, Professor Banji Oyelaran-Oyeyinka, also commended the governor and urged staff and union leaders to cooperate with the government.
Representatives of resident doctors, including Dr Mustapha Adedapo, Dr John Oladapo, the second vice-president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors, and JOHESU representative Comrade Olobaniyi David, welcomed the governor’s interventions.
They also acknowledged ongoing renovations at the teaching hospital’s annex in Oyo and the payment of some outstanding arrears.
However, they called for the sustained implementation of professional allowance tables for resident doctors and allied health workers.
Other officials at the meeting included the Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Adebo Ogundoyin; Secretary to the State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Bashorun Akinwale Akinwole; Head of Service, Dr Adenike Fashina; Deputy Chief of Staff, Kazeem Adeniyi; and Senior Executive Assistant to the Governor on General Duties, Chief Bayo Lawal.
Also present were the APM’s deputy governorship candidate, Mufutau Open Salawu; former Chief Medical Director of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Professor Temitope Alonge; commissioners; labour union leaders; and other dignitaries.