14th February, 2021
By Muhaimin Olowoporoku
Fortune finally smiled at Dr. Isa Akinbode as he was rewarded with a sum of N13.9 million and a brand new car for serving voluntarily at Monguno after he retired in 2016.
The retired doctor was presented the cheque by Borno State governor, Babagana Zulum for offering healthcare services to patients even when the town was faced with the severest threat from the terrorist group.
Akinbode’s selfless service first caught the attention of the state government when a former governor of the state, Senator Kashim Shettima visited Monguno.
He then directed officials of the state’s ministry of health to engage the doctor as a contract staff, though bureaucratic procedures and formalization of the process stalled the process.
Despite the delay, Akinbode’s dedication was never affected as he continued to provide healthcare service to people in the State.
Zulum, on Friday, however, directed that he should be paid arrears of N13.9m which accrued since the day his predecessor gave an order for his contract employment.
Zulum also directed that henceforth, the contract should be formalised for monthly entitlements, even as he presented him with a gift of Toyota Highlander.
The governor said the people like Dr. Akinbode “are the kinds of people that need to be encouraged.”
He said: “Dr. Akinbode lives in Monguno despite all the security problems. My predecessor had during his visit to Monguno, directed that he should be engaged on a contract basis. Unfortunately due to some bureaucratic procedures, his re-engagement has not been formalized.
“In fulfillment of the promise of my immediate predecessor, I decided to re-engage him on contract basis retrospectively. We are paying all his entitlements salary in arrears. I am giving him a cheque of N13.9m. I have also approved his re-engagement from 2016 being the date of his retirement.”
The Borno governor also approved the recruitment of Akinbode’s daughter into the Borno State Civil Service.