The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has announced plans to begin a daily peaceful protest and picketing of the Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Federation’s Head of Civil Service, and all federal and state tertiary health institutions nationwide on Wednesday.
The group issued the notification on Saturday in a letter sent to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH), stating that it is doing so to press home its requests that have been mostly ignored by the Federal Government.
Dr Emeka Orji, President of NARD, and Dr Chikezie Kelechi, Secretary-General, signed the letter.
“We wish to bring to your notice, of the decision of the National Executive Council of NARD to embark on daily peaceful protests and picketing of FMOH, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.
“Also, all federal and state tertiary health institutions nationwide, with effect from Aug. 9 at 10.00 a.m.
“This has become necessary to press home our demands which have been largely neglected by our parent ministry and the Federal Government.
“We are pained that rather than make genuine and concerted efforts to resolve the challenges that led to the industrial action in spite of repeated ultimatums, our parent ministry and the Federal Government have chosen to demonise Nigerian resident doctors instead, after all their sacrifices and patriotism.
“We therefore resolved that it is time the whole world hears our side of the story, the decay and corruption in the health sector as well as the neglect, the public health institutions have suffered all these years that led to repeated industrial actions,” the letter read.
NARD, however, said that it believed that the government still had time to genuinely address the issues at stake before Aug. 9, or leave it with no other option.
Channels Television reports that NARD had on July 25declared a “total and indefinite strike action”.
The resident doctors listed their demands to include the immediate payment of the 2023 MRTF, the immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, and the payment of skipping arrears.
The list also noted the upward review of CONMESS in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS, the payment of the arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum to the omitted doctors, and the reversal of the downgrading of the membership certificate by MDCN,
Other demands are the payment of MRTF, new hazard allowance, skipping and implementation of corrected CONMESS in State Tertiary Health Institutions, and the payment of omitted hazard allowance arrears.