High cost of drugs: 10 council workers die in Oyo

No fewer than 10 workers from the four local governments in Oyo Federal Constituency of Oyo State have lost their lives, due to inabilities to afford cost of treatments to cure their ailments.
The deceased workers died of hypertension and low blood count.
Four of the dead workers were said to have come from Afijio, two from Atiba, two from Oyo-East and the remaining two from Oyo-West.
Findings showed that the workers who died at different times were initially taken to both the private and public hospitals when the ailments were first noticed by their relations.
But the cost of drugs prescribed and other treatments were beyond what they could bear, thus forcing them to move out the ailing workers from the hospitals and sought for alternative treatments from ‘quacks’.
One of the deceased workers, a gate man, was said to have suffered from low blood count.
He was said to have arrived the council secretariat hale and hearty after performing night duty the previous day, to return the motorcycle boarded home.
On his way back home, the middle-aged gateman and slumped while approaching the council gate.
He was said to have urinated and passed out excreta on the spot.
Disturbed about what happened, his co-workers rushed him to the hospital where it was discovered that the deceased had low blood count.
Though both medical personnel made frantic efforts to bring the gateman back to life, he eventually gave up the ghost due
to inability to mobilise enough fund for blood transfusion.
Some relations of the deceased workers said: “If our people had the means to take care of themselves, they would not have died in this circumstance. Since salaries were not paid in the last five months, many of these deceased were indebted to credit and thrift associations through loans.
“ While these associations kept mounting pressures on the deceased to pay up debts owed, matrimonial commitments kept stock piling, as feeding, transportation to and from work, including payment of schools’ fees were daunting tasks to be accomplished. All these resulted in frustration and persistent thoughts which led to the ailments.”
Workers in the state are currently being owed five months salaries.
Meanwhile, some Non-Governmental Organisations under the aegis of JUSTICE FOR ALL has urged Governor Abiola Ajimobi to explain why the state government finds it difficult to pay workers’ salaries running into five months.
Addressing journalists at the end of its marathon maiden meeting held in Oyo town, acting Publicity Secretary, Adewale Adams, also called for publications of how much was received from the Federation Account, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), bail-out funds and other Federal allocations between January and December last year by the state government.