Lagos Denies Signing Agreement With Doctors

Following counter-accusations from doctors sacked in the wake of their industrial dispute with Lagos State government that the state government reneged on the agreement it signed with them, the government on Wednesday, refuted the claims, saying it was baseless.

The Lagos State Head of Service Mr. Adesegun Ogunlewe who picked holes in the doctors’ claim at a press briefing on Wednesday said he was not party to any agreement with the doctors in 2011, pointing out that the purported agreement is a figment of their imagination.

According to him, “I was not party to the 2011 agreement with doctors. To the best of my knowledge, I do not know if there was any agreement between the striking doctors and the state government.

“We had commenced the payment of the new salary structure for the doctors since January 2011 which is commensurate with the federal government salary structure and until when they embarked on their strike; none of the doctors was owed any salary by the state government.”

The Head of Service explained that what it signed with the doctors was a salary adjustment which payment it commenced since January 2011 in line with CONMESS.

Speaking on the fate of the 788 sacked doctors, Mr. Ogunlewe said some of the doctors have appealed and answered the query issued them for embarking on what he termed as illegal strike, saying the relevant state government agencies are looking into the issue.