“We didn’t see anything about insurance. What they did was that at a particular time they just brought one volunteer’s form and we just filled the form and gave them back. Since then nobody has mentioned anything concerning it again.
“Even when you try to approach them to find out if the pay is coming or not, they become hostile to you. And yet work is going on, we come to work, do your work, and go home,” she added.
The volunteers also accused one Dr. Abdulsalami, one of the senior officials at the IDH, of being hostile to them whenever they attempt to enquire about their emolument.
“Dr. Abdulsalam is the one that relates between us and the state. He normally brings our pay,” one volunteer said.
“He has not told us anything to hold on, rather he’ll tell us that there is no money and if you try to talk further he will be hostile to you,” he added.
Phone calls and text messages to Dr. Abdulsalami were unanswered, so also were phone calls and text messages to Dr. Idris.
But Faisal Shuaib, Head of the Ebola virus Emergency Operations Centre in Lagos told PREMIUM TIMES that the claims were untrue.
“Every documented, verified volunteer is being paid handsomely. I am sure you know this,” Dr. Shuaib said in a text message response.
“Let them show you evidence that they were engaged as volunteers and working actively for the past two weeks. If they have been working, they deserve to be paid for their sweat. If they haven’t, then they are trying to play on your intelligence,” he added.