By Austin Ogwuda
ASABA — DELTA State Government, yesterday, lamented that despite of its plea that doctors and other health workers in the state should accept the  60 per cent offer  of the  Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS, and go back to work, they had refused to bulge, leading to a rise in death of patients, who could have probably survived if there was no strike.

Meanwhile, it had concluded plans to explore options available to it to bring normalcy, while accusing some political opponents for allegedly fueling the situation.

Fielding questions in his office, yesterday, state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Joseph Otumara, wondered why the health workers in the state refused to appraise the cogent explanation that the state can only pay 60 per cent of the increase for now, whereas in some states, attempts were not even made to enter into negotiation over the increase that was a creation of the Federal Government and not the state.

Said he: “This thing has been dragging on for a while, the issue of this CONMESS. If you look at this circular, at the federal level, it was supposed to take effect from January 1.

But I sincerely feel that is it being used by politicians. The opponents camp may be hiding under  to stimulate some of the doctors, particularly those  holding executive positions to go on this strike. So, I believe we may have some politicians or people who don’t want good things for the people of Delta State.”

He warned that the state government might be left with the option of applying the principle of “no-work-no pay.”

Otumara had earlier in the week, while pleading with the striking health workers to return to work, said that paying the 100 per cent increase would cripple the state financially, noting that the state government was already spending N9 billion yearly as salary for health workers.

“The financial implication of paying the health workers only in the state government’s central and general hospitals moved from N3.2 billion to over N7.2 billion yearly and if the health workers in the service of Delta State Teaching Hospital Board are added, this sum will be well over N9 billion yearly,” he said.