We’ll fight Jonathan to a standstill — Doctors Sacked resident doctors in the country have vowed to use every means to fight President Goodluck Jonathan to a standstill, describing their sack as insensitive. Jonathan had on Thursday sacked over 15,000 resident doctors in all Federal Government hospitals across the nation for embarking on strike while the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, rages on. President, National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, Dr. Jubril Abdullahi, who spoke with P.M.NEWS on behalf of his colleagues said the decision of the president to sack all resident doctors was done in bad faith as it would be counter-productive. He said the doctors were not moved by the decision to sack them, vowing that they would fight on to ensure that the right thing was done by the Federal Government. “This strike is not only about resident doctors, it is about the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA. For the government to have singled out only resident doctors to be sacked is not the right decision. Let them sack all the doctors in Nigeria,” he said. Abdullahi stated that the sack was illegal as it was against the Civil Service Rule and that the government’s action could be challenged in the law court. According to him, it was inappropriate for the president to have taken an irrational decision to sack the resident doctors in anger, stressing that any decision taken in anger would not see the light of the day, saying that the doctors would resist the action. He said the resident doctors and the NMA would respond to their sack appropriately and that a delegates meeting to fashion out the next line of action would soon be convened. Also speaking, the Chairman, NMA, Lagos State Chapter, Dr. Tope Ojo said the Federal Government’s action was consistent with an insensitive government, saying that the Lagos State Government tried it sometime ago and failed woefully, while ending up escalating the crisis. He stated the action taken by the president would not work, adding that the government was not doing anything to salvage the Ebola crisis in the country as it refused to put the necessary facilities in place. “This government is not ready to tackle Ebola. You say you don’t have specialists and you are sacking the doctors who are being trained as specialists. This government is not serious. “This action is one of an insensitive government that does not access the facilities here for the wellbeing of their family members. This action is a rape on democracy. It is an action taken by clowns in power,” he said. Ojo added that resident doctors were the engine room in all government hospitals as the bulk of the work fall on them, saying that their sack would be resisted. “We will still witness the escalation of this crisis and we will close down facilities in government hospitals totally,” he warned. Jonathan had on Thursday sacked all resident doctors in all Federal Government hospitals across the nation for not teaming up with government to fight the outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease, EVD, in the country. A statement from the Federal Ministry of Health said the action was taken to enable government appraise the challenges in the health sector in a bid to fight the Ebola scourge. The statement signed by Alhaji Isiaka Yusuf, Deputy Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria said the resident doctors had been frustrating the move by the government to curtail the Ebola virus from spreading. According to the statement, the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, made good its threat of 11 June, 2014 by calling out its members on industrial action on the 1 July, 2014 despite the Federal Government’s successive intervention meetings and dialogue including extensive deliberations with the leadership of the NMA on 25 and 26 June, 2014, where agreements were reached on each of the 24 demands and a Memorandum of Understanding signed by both parties. It said in the midst of the strike, the government had also cultivated the attention and intervention of some eminent personalities in order to prevail on the NMA leadership to abide by the ethics of their profession and end the strike whilst the dialogue was ongoing. The government stressed that it has implemented more than 90 percent of its responsibilities as signed by both parties, adding that at the conclusion of each meeting, the NMA promised to call off the strike but would return another day to say that they could not. “For the whole of July 2014, these doctors did not work yet government, owing to the emergency situation in our country, paid them the July salaries with allowances such as call duty allowance, teaching allowance, hazard allowance, etc, believing that this magnanimity of government would appeal to reason for NMA to call off the strike. “This strike can be considered as one of the most insensitive steps to be taken by any association or a labour union in the history of this country. Pertinent to the issue under discussion are the current security challenges in the country with the attendant mass casualties. The situation has been compounded by the recent importation of the Ebola Virus Disease into Nigeria on 20 July, 2014. “Following the Presidential declaration of a National Public Health Emergency on Ebola Disease which has united the entire country in the efforts to contain the disease, it is quite regrettable that the people who should take leadership role in the fight against Ebola disease are now the most unsupportive. All efforts by government to contain this disease are being frustrated by the continued industrial strike action of the NMA,” it lamented. The statement added that “the Federal Government has therefore decided that Residency Training Programme in Federal Government Hospitals be suspended pending the conclusion of the ongoing appraisal of the challenges in the health sector. “This directive is without prejudice to any emergency measure that may be necessary for the hospital management to immediately restore full medical services. The Federal Government wishes to reassure the public that optimal medical health care delivery will be sustained in our hospitals.” Culled from PM News
Posted on: Fri, 15 Aug 2014 21:24:33 +0000
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