A Nigerian doctor has sparked widespread reactions on social media after alleging that he and seven other house officers at the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital in Calabar have worked for 290 days without receiving their salaries.
In a viral video circulating online, the doctor, who identified himself as Dr. Innosent, claimed that eight house officers employed through the Ministry of Defence have remained unpaid despite carrying out their medical duties for more than nine months.
According to him, the affected doctors are among 15 house officers currently serving at the hospital, where they reportedly play a critical role in patient care due to a shortage of resident doctors.
“Hello, good day. My name is Dr. Innosent and today is day 290 of working as a house officer without pay. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it’s true. Not just myself, but a few of my colleagues as well. Eight in total,” he said.
The doctor explained that house officers at the facility are responsible for managing the General Out-Patient Department (GOPD), attending to patients in the Accident and Emergency unit, assisting during surgeries, and serving as the link between patients and consultants.
He said the workload is particularly demanding because the hospital has very few resident doctors, forcing house officers to shoulder significant responsibilities.
“We do a lot of work here. We almost literally run this place. We have gone 290 days without pay,” he stated.
Dr. Innosent further claimed that although they work at the Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital, they were employed by the Ministry of Defence, which he said is responsible for processing their salaries.
According to him, repeated attempts to resolve the issue through the appropriate channels have yielded no meaningful results.
“All our efforts to try and resolve this by calling Abuja have been to no avail. Nobody is giving us anything substantial. Our contact person at the Ministry of Defence doesn’t seem to know when they will pay us,” he said.
He described the prolonged delay in payment as unfair and emotionally draining, noting that the affected doctors continue to work long hours, including weekends, despite not receiving any remuneration.
The doctor also claimed that refusing to carry out assigned duties could attract disciplinary action, leaving the affected house officers with little choice but to continue working.
“The toll it’s having mentally and physically on us as doctors is crazy. To come to work every single day, sometimes seven days a week, and not be paid, not even having time to do a side hustle, is crazy,” he lamented.
Appealing to the relevant authorities, Dr. Innosent urged the Ministry of Defence to urgently address the situation and ensure that the affected doctors receive their outstanding salaries.
“All we just want is to get paid. We can’t stay 290 days—over nine months—without being paid. This needs to be fixed,” he said.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Ministry of Defence nor the Nigerian Navy had publicly responded to the doctor’s allegations. The claims contained in the viral video have not been independently verified.
Watch the video here….
“Today makes it Day 290 of me working at the Nigerian Navy Hospital, Calabar, without pay” — Nigerian Medical Doctor laments
pic.twitter.com/wFCAauzk1X— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) July 10, 2026
