Resident doctors plans for nationwide protest if demands are not met

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors(NARD) announced that its members have been organized for the national demonstration that will take place on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, if the Federal Government does not agree to its demands.

Even so, the association claimed there had not been a formal meeting with the government since it announced the protest.

NARD announced that it would begin peaceful demonstrations on Wednesday and picket the Federal Ministry of Health, the Office of the Head of the Federal Civil Service, as well as the federal and state tertiary health institutions across the nation.

On July 26, 2023, NARD began an indefinite strike after giving the government a two-week deadline to comply with its demands.

The implementation of the one-for-one replacement policy for healthcare workers, a hazard allowance, the domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act, the immediate payment of all salary arrears, and an end to the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria’s downgrading of membership certificates issued by West African Postgraduate Medical and Surgical Colleges are all demands made by doctors.

A circular from the FG dated August 1, 2023 instructed the Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors in the Federal Tertiary Hospitals to apply the “no work, no pay” policy to the striking NARD members.

The association’s president, Dr. Emeka Orji, told our correspondent on Monday that the strike would unquestionably intensify if the government did not give in by Wednesday morning at 10 am.

“For the nationwide protest, we have organized our members. We will congregate at the National Hospital in Abuja for those who are there before moving on to the Federal Ministry of Health’s secretariat. The local physicians who work with our doctors in other states will demonstrate outside their hospitals”.

When asked if the doctors had met with the government since the protest was announced, Orji responded, “We have not been officially invited for a meeting. Although we haven’t received an official invitation for the meeting, I am aware that some government officials are trying to schedule a meeting with us. ”.