ABUJA — Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, has told resident doctors that their demands will be met and as such should put an end to the ongoing strike action.
Ehanire urged the doctors to opt for a peaceful resolution and return to work, assuring that the debts will be cleared.
He said this at the briefing of the presidential committee on COVID-19 on Monday.
“Last week his excellency, the president received the leadership of the Nigerian Medical Association in the audience and in his remarks called on doctors on strike to return to duty and for those contemplating it to opt for a peaceful resolution, so as not to put the lives of citizens at risk,” he said.
“He reminded us that his administration has a soundtrack record of paying debts, even such debts as inherited from, or ignored by the preceding administration. Resident doctors are therefore assured from the highest authority in the land that all debts will be settled when they are verified and validated.
“With this, I call on striking doctors to put an end to their industrial action immediately and return to work. Nigeria has been lucky with the relatively low impact of COVID-19 so far, and we need to keep our preparedness optimal. We cannot afford to stretch our luck too far.”
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had embarked on a strike in August over irregular payment of salaries and poor welfare amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections.
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