Patients at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Sagamu were left stranded on Wednesday as doctors and nurses failed to attend to them due to the ongoing nationwide strike.

The strike, called by the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, is in protest of the recent hike in fuel prices and the government’s failure to implement a new minimum wage.

OOUTH staff complied with the strike directives, with doctors, nurses, midwives, laboratory officials, record keepers, and other staff returning home and refusing to work.

Patients and others who visited the hospital were turned away.

According to Daily Trust, union leaders were seen at the hospital with canes, ready to flog out anyone who might try to work during the strike.

One of the main gates at OOUTH was also locked and sealed.

Mrs. Abiola Ade, who had come from Abeokuta to pick up the results of a test she had done the previous week, was among those turned away.

“I came from Abeokuta this morning to pick up the results of a test I did last week, but they told me they have joined the strike,” she said. “So, I will have to go back. This is so annoying,” she said.

One of the nurses, who spoke anonymously, confirmed that the hospital had joined the strike and would likely remain closed until further notice.

The NLC Chairman in Ogun State, Hammed Ademola Benco, praised compliance with the strike directive.

“It is not possible for us to pull out of the strike because it is a national directive,” he said. “We have been going around to make sure there is compliance and we can see that level of compliance is high.“

Benco added that the strike would continue until the government meets the demands of the NLC and TUC.