1 month ago
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.Urges striking doctors to call off action
The Federal Government says it will evoke the “No Work, No Pay” policy on members of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) for the number of days that they observed the nationwide industrial action.
Mr Ado Bako, the Assistant Director, Information Public Relations, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that members of the association embarked on a seven-day warning strike on Monday to push home their demands on the Federal Government.
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The demand is to secure the release of their colleague, Dr Ganiyat Popoola.
Popoola, a registrar in the Department of Ophthalmology at the National Eye Centre, Kaduna, was abducted in December 2023, along with her husband and nephew.
Her husband was later released, while Popoola and her nephew remained in captivity.
According to Bako, the measure is in line with extant law and is not intended to undermine the legitimate concerns of medical professionals.
He added that the measure was to further ensure that essential healthcare services were not unduly disrupted to the detriment of the public.
He also said that the ministry was disappointed over NARD’s decision to embark on the seven-day warning strike.
He said NARD members disregarded all negotiations and plea attempts by the Federal Government to resolve the concerns.
Bako explained that the ministry, in collaboration with relevant security agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) had been working to ensure immediate and safe rescue of Dr Ganiyat Popoola.
“High-level discussions and coordinated efforts are currently underway and we remain confident that these measures will lead to a positive outcome.
“The ministry will not relent in its efforts to guarantee the safety, improve the welfare and working conditions of all healthcare workers, including resident doctors.
“Significant strides have been made in recent negotiations, and government has demonstrated good faith by addressing many of the concerns highlighted by NARD.
“The ministry finds the decision to proceed with this strike, in the midst of ongoing discussions, deeply regrettable.”
He, however, said that continued dialogue was the best approach to resolving outstanding issues.
He encouraged the doctors to return to the negotiation table so that stakeholders could collaboratively find lasting solutions to the challenges facing the nation’s healthcare sector.
Bako added that the ministry is open to constructive dialogue and committed to working with stakeholders to achieve a fair and sustainable resolution.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, has appealed to the members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to call off their seven-day warning strike.
The Minister made the call 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.
The minister said that the Federal Government and security agencies were working hard to rescue Popoola.
He said: “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.”
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.
” We don’t believe this warning strike will do anything. All hands are on deck to secure her release.
” For the past two days, we know she is alive and that’s good news for us as the security are working hard to bring her back alive,” he said.
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.
“I appeal to you to call off the strike and let’s keep praying that she comes back home in peace,” the minister passionately appealed.
The News Agency of Nigeria recalls 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.
However, the Chairman of the association, National Eye Centre, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed, told NAN that 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.
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