Law News
Ondo FMC director risks one-month jail over doctors’ salaries

An Industrial Court, sitting in Akure, the Ondo State capital, on Monday, ordered that the Chief Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Dr. Liasu Ahmed, be sent to jail for one month if he failed to pay the salaries of resident doctors in the hospital by 5pm on Monday.

Ahmed, who was taken to court by the Association of Residents Doctors, FMC Owo chapter, for his alleged refusal to pay the October and November 2016 salaries of the doctors, was ordered by the court to pay one of the two-month salaries.

The CMD allegedly ignored the court order.

The embattled medical director was said to have refused to pay the doctors as a result of no-work-no-pay policy, which he slammed on the doctors following their strike.

It was gathered that the hospital paid the doctors’ salaries during the strike for three months in 2016.

Ahmed was said to have issued a circular that the doctors should not be paid their salaries since they had been paid when they were on strike in months preceding October when they resumed work.

He was said to have ordered that they must work for the money they collected during the strike.

Delivering her ruling, Justice Oyejoju Oyewumi however ordered the embattled CMD to pay the doctors latest 5pm on Monday.

She said if Ahmed failed to do so before the given time, he should go to jail for one month.

As of the time of this report, the legal team of the two parties were meeting in one of the offices in the court, discussing how the order of the court would be obeyed so that the FMC boss would not go to prison.

A counsel for one of the claimants, Mr. Kehinde Ojo, said the court ruled against the first defendant (Ahmed) because he failed to comply with the court order and did not convince the court why he failed to comply with the order.

He stated, “Counsel for the Federal Ministry of Health are representing him. They pleaded with the court, may be, he (Ahmed) can pay before the end of the day (Monday). The court will be waiting till around 5pm, but if he can’t pay, he would be sent to prison.”

In his reaction, the President of the ARD, FMC Owo chapter, Dr. Abel Fakorede, applauded the judgment, saying the court had shown it was the last hope of the common man.

“We have nothing against him personally. We have given him many opportunities to settle out of court but our boss was not ready to obey the court. Since the court has given its verdict now, there is nothing anybody can do about it,” Fakorede stated.

Source: Peter Dada

The Punch