ABUJA — Nigeria’s Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire says Consultants doctors and corps members are to fill the void left behind by the resident doctors who are on strike.
Recall that the Resident doctors embarked on a nationwide strike on August 2, citing irregular payment of salaries and hazard allowances.
The minister told State House Correspondents on Thursday in Abuja that it is the wrong time for doctors to embark on strike as the country is in a “vulnerable period”.
The minister appealed to the doctors to call off the strike, adding that the government is working to meet their demands.
“We are appealing to them not to use this very vulnerable period when the country is facing a war, you know the havoc that the Delta variant did in India, and what it has done and it is doing in Indonesia, Ireland, and other countries.”
“We have only one or two percent of eligible Nigerians vaccinated; So we are really facing something like a war. When you face a war, that is not the time that soldiers say they are not going to fight.”
“We don’t want to see here, what happened in India where they also lost 400,000 lives due to COVID-19 Delta strain, we don’t want that,” Ehanire said.
The minister explained that the no work no pay’ directive issued in the wake of the strike, was an international practice and not to threaten the doctor.
“Your salary comes from taxpayers money, so if you didn’t work why should you go and be saying you should be paid because if that is so, you can be encouraged to stay home for up to six months and your salary is running from public funds, from taxpayers money and you have not given the community any service,” he queried.
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