Doctors Postpone Ultimatum, Lament Closure Of FMC Owo
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has postponed the ultimatum it gave to the Federal Government by two weeks.
This is just as the association complained about the increasing rate of brain drain in the sector which it said led to the closure of the Federal Medical Centre, Owo, on Friday “as a consequence of the immense manpower shortage in the centre.”
The association added that it extended its ultimatum to pave way for intervention by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
This was the decision reached during the association’s extraordinary National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, which lasted till Saturday night.
Recall that the resident doctors had, on July 30, 2022, issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to implement all the agreements it had with the association or risk an indefinite strike.
NARD’s demands include the payment of the newly-reviewed Medical Residency Training Fund; the immediate implementation and payment of the new hazard allowance and arrears; and several others.
NARD President Dr. Dare Ishaya, on Sunday, said, “The extraordinary NEC meeting resolved that since the Ministry of Health, through the Minister of State for Health, Ekumankama Nkama, has communicated to the Ministry of Finance to release the funds for the payment of the new hazard allowance and the Medical Residency Training Fund, we should give two more weeks to observe and see the rate at which our issues will receive the attention of the authorities concerned.
“After that, we will now make a comprehensive decision. So we are extending our ultimatum by two weeks.
“The other issues raised are still there but we have seen some moves towards resolving them and we want to give more time to see how it turns out with the help of the Minister of State for Health and Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, so we want to give them more time to intervene.”
