The Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Julius Ihonbvere said that the House would continue to engage with relevant stakeholders to resolve the strike action by the Nigerian Association Of Resident Doctors, NARD.
Julius who is the chairman the Ad-hoc committee stated this during an interactive meeting between the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Health and the National Association of Resident Doctors and stakeholders, in Abuja
The meeting was aimed at resolving the ongoing industrial action of the association.
Holding Nigerians to ransom
The Director General of the Budget Office, Mr. Ben Akabueze, who was part of the meeting told the association to stop holding Nigerians to ransom with strikes.
He said that the current strike by NARD, was affecting Nigerians negatively.
He also noted that many of the doctors that have left the country still has their names on the nominal role of hospitals across the country which puts a huge financial burden on Nigeria.
“When you look at the nominal role, many of the people who are said to have exited, to have japaed are still on the nominal roll of the hospitals because some of them are taking study leave, some of them are taking leave of absence and they remain on the nominal roll.
So, when they do the evaluation of authorized establishment vis-à-vis bodies in post, those bodies are no longer in post but they are reflecting as they are in post. Meanwhile the hospitals knows these people have japaed, they are not available.
They are still kept. That is something that perhaps at the level of Ministry of health that makes policy to determine how we deal with these things. Health workers cant simply go off on leave of absence and have his job or her job guaranteed there waiting, meanwhile there is nobody to serve the people because there is no vacancy there, they cannot replace. If we do not deal with this, even when you come to implementing this one on one replacement, would such people be deemed as replaceable? People who have left. And if they are replaced and tomorrow the person returns, what then happens,” Mr. Akubueze said.
The Deputy Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Honourable Tanko Sonunu, who presided over the meeting, said that it was important to find a solution to the incessant strikes.
He urged the resident doctors to be reasonable and give the government more time.
While addressing some of the grievances listed by NARD, the chairman other stakeholders at the meeting to find solution to issues mentioned.
Needed to be honoured
He noted that agreements reached needed to be honoured.
The Chairman Salaries and Wages Commission, Mr. Ekpo Nta, said that some of the financial agreements were not met due to the current exchange rate in the country.
The National President of the National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Emeka Orji, listed the issues that led to the strike to include:
“Payment of Examination and training allowances, Loss of manpower, down grading of NARD members by the National Medical Post Graduate College, Non payment of skipping arrears, arrears of minimum wage, Upward review and Consolidation of salary structure, Federal government to implore states owing doctors salaries to pay and One on One policy which allows Chief Medical Directors to employ doctor and pay them directly”.
He said that the association has been giving government warning for some months and nothing has happened.
“The challenges are too many and our members were losing their lives“. Dr. Orji said.
On the issue of downgrading of membership, the Registrar of the National Post Graduate Medical of Nigeria Professor Fatiu Arogundade, said that most of the doctors attend schools whose certificates are below standard.
He said that any Nigerian doctor who presents a certificate from the West African College of Surgeons will not be placed same as a doctor from the National Post Graduate Medical College.
The Chairman Committee of Chief Medical Directors and the Chief Medical Director of the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Professor Emem Bassey said no medical doctor on study leave is paid salaries.
He said that most of the time, the hospitals had to employ non regular staff to assist in the hospitals.
Lateefah Ibrahim
