After several negotiations and behind closed-door meetings to find a lasting solution to the lingering health crisis, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), yesterday in Abuja declared a nationwide indefinite strike which begins today.
The strike came amid an order of interim injunction issued by the National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja, urging health workers across board to desist from embarking on any strike as well as halting the implementation of any agreement earlier reached between the government and members of the Joint Health Sector Union ( JOHESU) pending the hearing and determination of the case before it.
Addressing journalists on the inability of the federal government to heed to their demands and the imperative of the strike, NMA President, Dr. Lawrence Obembe, said the union had reached its end point in trying to find a solution to the problem.
The 24 demands the NMA sent earlier to the government through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) included a discontinuation of the recognition of non-medical doctors as Directors and the ascription of consultant title to any other health worker other than a medical doctor within the confines of medicine and surgery.
The demands also range from the appointment of a Surgeon-General, clinical duty and hazard allowances, withdrawal of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) circular on medical laboratory equipment among others.
According to Obembe, the failure of the government to adhere to the demands and the non-commencement of the implementation had compelled the NMA “to call all its members to down tools starting from 12.01a.m. today in order to press home their demands.”
Obembe, who was joined in the press conference by the NMA first Vice-President, Dr. Titus Ibekwe, Dr. Henry Ewunonu, Dr. Fatima Mairami of FCT branch, said there was no way non-doctors can be allowed to function as consultants given that they do not oversee patients in the hospital.
“The consultant is the owner of the patient; many health workers now go about acquiring Ph.D so that they can be called doctors. The title should be restricted to only a medical doctor,” the NMA president maintained.
Meanwhile, the association said last week’s interim injunction by the industrial court had no link to the NMA as it was merely an issue between MDCAN and government.
Obembe explained that the injunction was not in any way to prevent NMA from embarking on strike.
He said: “Every doctor is a member of NMA, other affiliates are allowed to operate also. We sort legal advice on the court injunction, our legal opinion is that the court order did not make any reference to the NMA and since it did not mention NMA we don’t want to dwell on it.”
Asked about what came out of the several meetings the association held with the government, the NMA president stated: “We had a meeting with the federal government, we tabled our minimal demands, the government did not agree with NMA, but there is no end point, some were referred to the court, there was no end point, while this was going on, the government was issuing out circulars favouring other health workers.”
The strike by the NMA is seen by some stakeholders as a great shock given the intervention of the Ministries of Labour and Justice in trying to resolve the logjam.
Some believed that the incessant strikes has the tendency of tarnishing their reputation before citizens who are in dire need of medical service around the country.
Also, a source within the NMA accused the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, of allowing some cabals within the ministry to cajole him into submission, thereby, giving priority to other health workers at the expense of medical doctors.
