Wetin goment promise to do for resident doctors within 24 hours

Di Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (Nard) don reveal update on dia indefinite strike and why dem suspend dia nationwide protest wey dem wan use to press home dia demands on Wednesday.

Na very late on Tuesday night di goment meet di striking resident doctors to beg dem to suspend dia strike sake of say dem ready to meet di demands.

Remember say di resident doctors for Nigeria embark on an indefinite strike for July 26, 2023, wia dem dey demand better welfare of dia members among oda requests. Di doctors bin give goment two-week ultimatum bifor but goment no meet dia demands wey later turn to di strike wey dem begin.

Sadly, goment release one letter on Tuesday 1 August through di federal ministry dem order di implementation of a ‘no work, no pay’ policy for di doctors wey dey strike. Di striking doctors immediately declare a nationwide protest wey suppose begin on Wednesday.

Dem doctors suspend dia planned nationwide protest for Wednesday morning afta dem meet wit goment representatives wia dem promise to dey meet di demands.

Dr Kemi Atiloye wey dey lead Nard for Lagos University Teaching Hospital tell BBC News say dem don put di nationwide on hold after di national executive meet di senate president Godswill Akpabio and oda goment representatives. For di meeting, di goment request for 24hrs to attend to di demands of di resident doctors

“For now, we dey suspend di nationwide protest and hopefully we fit no need to embark on di protest again, but we need to review di progress within 24hrs-72hrs from now weda we go kontinu or not.

"Na two major demands di goment fit do immediately, we dey very considerate and goment fit kontinu to discuss di rest with us and sort it.”

Di two major demands wey Nard dey expect goment to immediately attend to dey border around di medical residency training fund. Di fund na wetin di resident doctors dey use go seminars, training and conferences.

Dr Atiloye reveal say di medical residency training fund don dey inside di budget already but goment never pay am. She add say plenti doctors don use dia money go academic training to write exam and dem never get payment even as some fail.

“If dis money na for training and academic seminars why dem no pay am. Pipo don go write di exam, pay from dia own personal pockets, some even fail and dem go come back again to rewrite. Di exams no dey cheap and if dem pay us, we consider to shelve our actions.

"We confam say goment don do approve di payment of di bureaucracy in government, we are making little progress if they keep to their words."

Di second demands wey goment fit meet wey no require money na di one-for-one replacement of clinical staff. Nard tok say di replacement of doctors wey dey comot di kontri go help stop overload fro doz wey still remain for di work.

Dr Atiloye reveal say goment don approve di medical residency training fund but bureaucracy dey delay am.”

According to di editor-in-chief for di association, Ayooluwa Omoniyi, di Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) also chook mouth for di protest sake of say dem dey fear di security situation for di kontri make hooldums no hijack di protest.

Im also reveal say goment request for 24hrs to meet some of dia demands and na di reasons why di protest dey suspended but di strike go still continue.

“Our mother body, advised us about di protest so hoodlums no go hijack di protest. Although goment request for 24hrs but we go give dem 48hrs if dem go respond positively to our request.

Di striking doctors tok say dem go wait till after 24hrs reach 72hrs wey goment promise to see if dem go begin implement dia demands.