Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike said on Wednesday that the administration’s monthly wage bill now stands at N8 billion.
He said the FCT’s budget for next year would take into account the concerns raised by various stakeholders and unions in the Territory.
According to the Minister, the current bill doesn’t include the recent N35,000 wage increase for civil servants.
The Minister disclosed this when he received executive members of the FCT chapter of the Association of Resident Doctors, led by the President, Dr Rahman Olayinka.
While the doctors listed several challenges confronting them, Wike said the government may not be able to solve all their challenges, but that it would do its best within the limits of its ability.
He said: “People want government to do things for them. The federal government has just increased salaries by 35,000. But where are the resources? Nobody is asking this question. People just want more money.
“In FCT the salary a month is N8bn. I am not talking about this increment now. Now, what are we dependent on? IGR. We must tell ourselves the simple truth. The current expenditure is such that we cannot find infrastructure. When we were in Rivers, we were doing 70 per cent for infrastructure and 30 for recurrent.”
Earlier, Dr Olayinka hailed the Minister for attending to some of their challenges within weeks of assuming office.
Noting the “Japa Syndrome”, a term used for brain drain, Dr Olayinka said there is a dearth of manpower in FCT’s health sector. He also called for the purchase of more drugs for FCT hospitals.
He said: “We still have a shortage of manpower, and it is causing a burn out of the doctors in the FCT. We would like you to consider the health sector when there is recruitment. We need doctors, pharmacists, nurses, lab technicians etc. FCT is at the receiving end of the Japa syndrome.
“We are being owed arrears of hazard allowance. The previous administration promised to pay us in tranches, and we are right now working with the administration to see how this can be done.”