►National President of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Kayode Obembe, on Wednesday, has reportedly assured the Senate President, David Mark, that the 51-day old industrial action embarked upon by medical doctors across the country, would soon be called off.
►Obembe was said to have given the assurance when he led members of the NMA executive to hold a closed-door meeting with the Senate President in Abuja. The meeting, which commenced in the late hours of Tuesday, lasted till the early hours of Wednesday.
►Obembe was said to have given the assurance when he led members of the NMA executive to hold a closed-door meeting with the Senate President in Abuja. The meeting, which commenced in the late hours of Tuesday, lasted till the early hours of Wednesday.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Mr. Paul Mumeh, on Wednesday, gave hint of what transpired at the meeting, said to have been attended by the Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Senator Tunde Ogbeha, as well as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe.
The statement explained that Obembe however said he would not give the exact date and time that the strike would be called off until he reported back to his members.
The NMA boss was also quoted to have described the meeting with Mark as, “very useful and successful.”
He described as incorrect “the notion in some quarters that the striking doctors abandoned the nation in this trying times of major heath challenge on account of the outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease.”
He clarified that there was never a time the doctors refused to respond to the national emergency.
The NMA boss said, “Doctors were not unmindful of the health challenges faced by the nation at the moment but needed government to correct some abnormalities in the health sector to make it more effective and responsive to the health care needs of the citizens.”
He pledged to convene a stakeholders meeting soon as part of the process to put an end to the current industrial action.
Nigerian doctors embarked on the nationwide strike on July 1 following their disagreement with the Federal Government over alleged unpaid allowances.
Mumeh’s statement added that Mark reminded the doctors of the implications of the strike to the health of the citizens and that there had been indications that government had complied with a reasonable number of the doctors’ demands.
