Medical doctors and other health workers in Ondo State have threatened a fresh industrial action if the state government fails to address what they described as thorny issues troubling the health sector.
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and its affiliates issued the threat during a press conference on Tuesday in Akure, the state capital. They criticised the government for allegedly failing to fix the decrepit infrastructure in its health sector.
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The health workers said years of poor remuneration, inadequate staffing, and neglect of the sector had severely weakened healthcare delivery, while the few available personnel work under severe pressure.
The NMA state chairman, Abel Alonge, who spoke for the workers, said the number of doctors in Ondo State had declined sharply over the past 12 years, despite the state’s growing population. He added that many general hospitals across the state now operate with either one doctor or none, creating unsafe and unsustainable working conditions for healthcare workers.
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Mr Alonge stated that the doctor-to-population ratio in Ondo State stands at about one doctor to 6,200 people, far below the World Health Organisation standard.
“The number of doctors serving the state today has dropped by about half of what it was 12 years ago, when the population was about 3.5 million. Today, the population is about 5.8 million,” he said.
He also lamented the poor state of hospital infrastructure, noting that many facilities still rely on obsolete equipment that has been in use for 10 to 20 years.
Also speaking, the chairman of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria in Ondo State, Stephen Adewole, described Ondo as the lowest-paying employer of health workers in Nigeria’s South-west.
He said that poor salaries and working conditions had triggered an exodus of doctors to neighbouring states, such as Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti, and Osun, in search of better welfare.
The consultants further accused the state government of failing to implement the revised federal remuneration package for medical and dental practitioners, approved in November 2025.
In the same vein, the President of the Association of Resident Doctors in Ondo State, Kehinde Olagbe, warned that the continued neglect of healthcare workers’ welfare could further cripple the state’s health system.
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The medical practitioners called for the prompt adoption of the federal pay structure, including outstanding arrears, enhanced welfare packages, the immediate hiring of additional staff, and the refurbishment of medical centres throughout Ondo State.
They warned that failure to meet their demands within seven days, after an earlier 14-day and 21-day notices, could trigger industrial action that may further strain the already overstretched health system.
It will be the second time this year that doctors will issue an ultimatum to the state government.
The Ondo Commissioner for Information, Idowu Ajanaku, stated the government had earlier reached an agreement with the doctors during the last face-off and would again this time “meet them at the negotiation table.”
He stated the government had not abandoned the health sector, but was working on various aspects of the sector to ensure affordable and accessible healthcare for the population.
He promised that the issues with the doctors would be resolved amicably for the good of the people of Ondo State.
