Doctors under the Nigerian Medical Association in Ekiti State have threatened to shut down government hospitals if the Federal Government fails to meet their demands.
The state chairman of the NMA, Dr Ifedayo Oreyemi, said on Thursday that the Ekiti branch is ready to join the nationwide strike if the government does not withdraw the new allowances introduced for doctors.
Oreyemi told journalists in Ado Ekiti that the national body had given the Federal Government a 21-day ultimatum to withdraw the circular issued on June 27 by the National Salary Income and Wages Commission.
“The action of the Federal Government clearly demonstrates insensitivity and hypocrisy. They have failed to respect previous agreements with the NMA,” Oreyemi said.
The NMA had described the circular as provocative and a breach of agreements made in 2001, 2009, and 2014. The association argued that the new policy distorts the salary relativity between doctors and other healthcare workers.
Oreyemi said, “We demand the immediate withdrawal of that circular. The government must also pay all backlogs, adjust the Medical Residency Training Fund to current economic realities, and implement all agreed allowances including hazard and clinical duty allowances.”
He urged Nigerian leaders to invest more in the health sector instead of seeking medical help abroad.
