Why resident doctors embarked on strike despite agreement with FG

The national president of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, has explained why resident doctors embarked on a total and indefinite strike on Thursday despite signing an agreement with the Federal Government to stay action.

According to the president, the Nigerian government has persistently breached every agreement reached with the resident doctors in the last decade.

Okhuaihesuyi, in a telephone chat with BusinessDay on Thursday, said the association refused to abide by the agreement because it would be unfair to its members who have died while waiting for the government to pay their entitlements.

“Yes, we embarked on a strike because there was no agreement. We have signed agreements for over a decade, so it is not the first time we are signing an agreement with the government. We know for a fact that governments do not honour the agreements. You cannot owe people for four months now as it stands and then you are signing agreements. You cannot tell the ones that we have lost, that their families cannot see again, that we are signing agreements. They are human lives,” Okhuaihesuyi.

Read Also: FG, resident doctors sign agreement to avert indefinite strike

“I wonder how many of the government officials can stay without being paid salaries for four months and still be happy to do their normal daily jobs. Those are things we have to take into consideration. And we cannot sign an agreement and take any decision without our members meeting,” he said.

The NARD president said the association’s NEC is already meeting on the issue and would issue a statement later today. He noted that only the NEC can call off any strike.

The Federal Government and Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had entered a Memorandum of Action (MOA) to halt the doctors’ planned nationwide strike billed to begin Thursday, April 1.

The MOA was signed at midnight on Wednesday following a marathon meeting between the government side and the leadership of NARD at the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.

Ngige had explained in a statement that what the government side had done meant that they had arrested the impending doctors’ strike and the issues in contention were being addressed.