Abia State Governor, Alex Otti says its administration has discovered that some doctors from the state, who have migrated to other places, are still collecting salaries from the state government.

Otti said this while speaking at the first Abia State Council on Health at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. The Abia helmsman said government would improve the welfare package for doctors in the state. But he also said the crime being committed by the ‘japa’ doctors would be tackled.

He said: “The ‘japa’ syndrome has indeed taken its toll on the health sector; however, this administration is not leaving any stone unturned in addressing this challenge. To this end, the government has resolved to motivate our health care workers through prompt payment of their wages and improvement of welfare packages that we will introduce from 2024.

“We are in the process of recruiting new skilled birth attendants to improve healthcare service delivery in the state. Furthermore, our ongoing digitalisation of the Abia State civil service has uncovered some staff that have left their duty post for greener pastures, yet still receive remuneration from the government. While the criminality involved in this is going to be addressed by the relevant agencies of government, the important thing here is that we do not have the number of hands that were hitherto reported. We are working hard to fill these gaps.”