Nigerian Govt begs doctors to call off 7-day warning strike

The Federal Government has appealed to the members of the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, to call off their seven-day warning strike.

The Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, made the appeal on Thursday in Kaduna during a visit to the National Eye Centre.

According to Alausa, negotiations are ongoing to ensure the safety of their kidnapped colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola.

“We are on top of the matter and have been on talking terms with the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu ,regarding the issue.

“I have spoken with the Commissioner of Police and everyone is working hard to see that she is released,” he said.

The minister said that he had held a meeting on Monday with the leadership of NARD over the situation to convince them to call off the strike because it would worsen the situation.

Alausa added that the kidnappers kept changing their demands every moment but the security agencies were working hard to see that she was safely rescued.

Recall that the members of the association began a seven-day warning strike to push for the rescue of a Kaduna-based doctor, Dr Ganiyat Popoola.

Popoola, a staff of the centre, was kidnapped in December, 2023 and has now spent about nine months in the kidnappers’ den.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the association, National Eye Centre, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed,said the strike was still on.

He said that the medical and dental consultants had joined them in the strike and it was a directive from the national body.