LAUTECH Resident Doctors Demand Immediate Release of Training Funds, Settlement of Wage Arrears from Governor Makinde

The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, has renewed its appeal to the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, for the immediate disbursement of the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) and the total settlement of accrued salary shortfalls. The association emphasizes that the continuous delay in honoring financial commitments is fueling severe staff burnout, accelerating a massive exodus of medical professionals, and threatening to compromise the standard of care available to patients across the region.

The core of the dispute centers on significant pay disparities, the non-implementation of statutory allowances, and the state's failure to fully bridge funding gaps under the current minimum wage structure for subvention-dependent healthcare institutions.

The union warns that the teaching hospital's capability to deliver unhindered specialist and emergency medical services is sitting on the verge of systemic collapse:

• The Brain Drain Crisis: ARD leadership revealed a critical decline in operational strength, noting that the pool of active resident doctors has plummeted heavily due to poor local remuneration and more lucrative options elsewhere. The union stated that several core departments are now operating without junior registrars, leaving senior registrars overstretched with exhausting, repetitive first-call duty shifts.
• The Subvention Deficit: While acknowledging that Governor Makinde previously approved increments to the hospital's monthly subvention and promised a phased clearance of historical promotion arrears, the union highlights that actual implementations remain inconsistent. Because the hospital relies heavily on state subventions rather than direct payroll integrations, updates to core healthcare salary scales like CONMESS continue to face administrative delays.
• The Training Bottleneck: Beyond immediate baseline wages, the doctors are urging the state executive to immediately clear pending refunds for update courses and professional examinations. They maintain that withholding the Medical Residency Training Fund directly stalls the academic progression of local practitioners, rendering the institution less competitive nationally.

To prevent another prolonged shutdown of clinical operations, the ARD congress is advising the Oyo State Government and the hospital management board to urgently implement the agreed welfare packages, balance local salary packages with state civil service standards, and invest in the renovation of call rooms to ensure safe working conditions for the remaining workforce.