Resident Doctors Directed To Begin Indefinite Strike From Midnight

Resident Doctors have been directed to embark on an indefinite strike as from midnight today, following the refusal of federal government to implement the agreement signed to suspend previous strikes.

National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) issued the directive, after the Tuesday meeting of its National Executive Council in Lagos.

The association’s President, Dr Emeka Orji, made this known to newsmen after the meeting.

The Resident Doctors are embarking on the indefinite strike, following the expiration of their five day warning strike issued last May 22.

They later issued a two week deadline this month which ended on Wednesday, last week.

Last Monday, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abass invited the leadership of the association to a meeting at the National Assembly.

Related News:

Resident Doctors Issue Fresh Strike Notice Over MOU Not Implemented

During the meeting, the speaker pleaded with the Resident Doctors to shelve their planned strike to enable the National Assembly initiate a fresh.

Orji said, “Our members are saying that we have been on this since January on the same issues, and they are not going to continue to wait.

“The very important part of our demands is one-for-one replacement, and doctors are still leaving and the ones remaining are being overworked.

“Last week, a doctor died in Bayelsa State. Doctors are dying from being overworked, and we have been on this for a long time.

“When we met on Friday, everybody was calling for a strike, and I just had to plead with them because the Secretary to the Government, George Akume, intervened, but up till today, we cannot reach them again, and nobody wants to hear about any intervention by the government again.”