Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has disclosed to striking doctors in the state how his state borrows to pay salaries of workers.
The governor made the disclosure when he met with their leadership of the doctors at his office.
The doctors were led to the meeting with the governor by the Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Health, Foluke Aladenola, and the Nigeria Medical Association State Chairman, Stella Adegbehingbe, to resolve the issue of the strike by the doctors in the state.
Speaking at the meeting, the governor made it known that the state government had been borrowing to pay salaries of workers due to the economic situation of the country.
According to him, the stalemate that led to the industrial action was as a result of the lack of understanding from a section of doctors’ associations which was encouraging segregation of the workforce in terms of payment of salaries.
“As regards the salaries of those who have not been paid, I can assure you that the money is intact, and it has been kept in an escrow account. But you need to know that we paid all but one of your salary arrears of seven months that we met,” Akeredolu stated.
He expressed assurance that the state Commissioner for Finance would commence the process of payment of their salary with immediate effect.
