By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Federal Government had directed that henceforth health workers going abroad to seek greener pastures must resign their appointments before embarking on such journeys.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made this known on Saturday, 9 March, 2024 during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Alausa said the era of health workers exiting to other countries in search of better offers after applying for a leave of absence is no longer acceptable.
According to the minister, the ban on the leave of absence for health workers emanated from the executive order issued by President Bola Tinubu as part of drastic steps to combat the challenge of brain drain fondly called ‘Japa Syndrome’ confronting the nation’s health sector.
“The problem with the leave of absence is that such a fellow is out there in the UK or Australia working, making money but his name still appears on the payment roll of the government and so to replace him is difficult because he is still being considered as a staff whereas he has left the country.
“So, to solve this problem, the President has directed that health workers going abroad to work should just resign their appointments and not apply for leave of absence. This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work and of course piling burdens for your colleagues that you left behind,” Alausa said.
The Minister stated that the President considered the biggest asset of the country to be the people and has not only vowed but has taken proactive actions to ensure the health sector is in good shape so that the health of the citizens won’t suffer.
