Hundreds of workers of Abia Hospitals Management Board (HMB), on Monday in Umuahia, staged a protest against the non-payment of their 11 months salaries and leave allowances.
The protesters, who blocked the entrance to the headquarters of the board located on Aba Road, said that the inability of the state government to pay them had left many of them in precarious situations.
The placard-carrying protesters barricaded the road as they chanted anti-government songs.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “Pay us our 11 months salary,” “Our 2017 annual leave allowance not paid”, Stop starving us” and “Our children are out of school,” among others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the protesters, who came from various HMB offices across the state, paralysed official activities at the board’s headquarters.
Speaking with journalists, Mr Ejike Nwaukwa, Chairman, Medical and Health Workers’ Union, HMB branch, said that they were protesting because the government had failed to come to their rescue despite their writing series of letters to express their plight.
“The last time we were paid salaries was on September 2018. We have not been paid our 2017 leave allowances till date.
