Aishah Waliyullah
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Ogun State chapter, has thrown its full weight behind the ongoing industrial action by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), calling on the Federal Government to immediately clear all outstanding arrears and address critical issues affecting medical workers in the country.
Resident doctors nationwide commenced an indefinite strike on Saturday after accusing the government of failing to implement 19 key demands, including the payment of owed allowances, reversal of alleged unjust dismissals, and resolution of stagnated career progression.
Speaking during a press briefing at the NMA Secretariat in Abeokuta on Tuesday, the State NMA Chairman, Dr. Luqman Ogunjimi, lamented that only one of NARD’s 19 demands had been met by the federal authorities.
“No hospital is exempted from the strike that started on Saturday. All resident doctors under NARD are participating, and the strike is indefinite as only one of the 19 demands has been met,” he said.
Dr. Ogunjimi urged the government to immediately pay all outstanding arrears, including accoutrement and promotion allowances, and to reverse what he described as “unjust dismissals” of doctors across hospitals.
The NMA also called for urgent intervention to address decaying hospital infrastructure, poor welfare, and the mass exodus of medical professionals — issues it warned are crippling Nigeria’s healthcare system.
The association further condemned what it referred to as the “unhealthy trend of creating consultant cadres for non-medical personnel,” demanding its immediate reversal.
“These demands must be treated as a national emergency,” Ogunjimi stressed. “The rising rate of brain-drain, infrastructural collapse, and poor welfare conditions are pushing the nation’s health system to the brink.”
He appealed to Nigerians for patience, assuring them that the strike was a necessary step to compel the government to uphold agreements and rescue the health sector.
The NMA urged the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and other critical government bodies to “act swiftly and responsibly” to avert further decline.
Present at the briefing were leaders of resident doctors from the three major tertiary health institutions in Ogun State — Dr. Abdulghaffar Kolade (Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Aro), Dr. Adebayo Alex Rilwan Omogbolahan (Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta), and Dr. Monehin Olusola Olabimpe (Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu).
Residents and patients have continued to express concern over the impact of the strike on medical services statewide.
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