Medical Doctors to go on Strike in 21 Days

The strikes that has plagued the Nation’s healthcare sytem is far from over as Medical doctors under the aegis of National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners, (NAGGMDP), have asked the government of 13 states to pay their outstanding salaries or face indefinite strike.

At a news conference held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, National President of NAGGMDP, Dr Nurud-Din Akindele, said the affected states owing between two and eight months salaries include; Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Kogi, Ondo, Nasarawa, Osun, Oyo and Plateau states, Vanguard reports.

NAGGMDP while backing the decision by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP ) to drag governors owing their workforce before the International Court of Justice, ICC, Akindele also appealed to President Mohammadu Buhari to compel the states to pay their workforce, as according to him, “It is criminal, callous and wicked for any state to owe its workforce.”

Flanked at the press briefing by the Publicity Secretary and Acting General Secretary of the association, Dr Isiaka Adekunle and Dr Olufemi Oroge respectively, Akindele seized the opportunity to campaign for increased funding of the health sector.

“Instead of building over 100 new primary health facilities to augment existing ones, we believe that strengthening existing primary health care centres have greater value for health care delivery than white elephant projects.”

He added that the populace suffers when doctors aren’t given their dues, with the result that the already impoverished situation is aggravated.

The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) threatened to go on strike last month, until they were persuaded by a swift intervention from the federal government.