In a display of frustration, health professionals united under the coalition of health professionals took to the streets of Yenagoa Bayelsa State on Tuesday, October 17, to protest the state government’s failure to pay their hazard allowances. The impassioned demonstration witnessed a massive turnout, with health workers blocking the Yenagoa-Mbiama Expressway and converging at the Ekeki Park axis of the State Capital.
Nurse T. Tonubari Samuel, the Secretary of the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) Bayelsa State Branch, addressed reporters during the protest. Nurse Samuel emphasized the primary motive behind their actions – drawing attention to the pressing issues facing health workers in the state, particularly the non-implementation of the new hazard allowance announced in a circular issued since December 2021.
Expressing disappointment, Nurse Samuel highlighted that health workers in federal facilities had received their hazard allowances, while Bayelsa State lagged behind, despite promises made by Governor Douye Diri during the last workers’ day. He called on the governor to fulfill these promises promptly.
The grievances extended beyond hazard allowances, with Nurse Samuel citing the non-implementation of the revised ‘call duty’ allowance, dating back to a circular released in 2014. He questioned why Bayelsa health workers were seemingly treated as “second-class citizens” compared to their counterparts in other states.
During the peaceful protest, members carried placards bearing messages such as “Bayelsa Health Workers are not second-class citizens,” “Bayelsa State has money to pay its health workers,” and “Gov. Diri, let health workers breathe.” Pharmacist Manovie Ambrose Elliot of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria and Zebedee Loveday of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria echoed the sentiments, aligning with the health professionals’ demands.
Despite efforts to communicate their concerns through letters and meetings with the Deputy Governor and Head of Service, health workers asserted that their pleas had fallen on deaf ears, intensifying the need for urgent government intervention.
As the protest unfolded, the collective voice of Bayelsa’s health professionals resonated, emphasizing the critical need for the state government to address their long-standing concerns and prioritize the welfare of those on the frontlines of healthcare.
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