Strike: We’ll begin implementation of doctors’demands tomorrow – FG

The federal government says it will commence the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Monday in a bid to end the indefinite strike embarked upon by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who stated this yesterday during the meeting of all concerned stakeholders he summoned at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari, said the move was aimed at resolving the doctors’ strike.

Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the meeting, which started about 2pm on Friday, spilled over to Saturday when the medical doctors maintained that they would not shift any ground unless the government attended to their demands.

Ngige, who addressed journalists before the meeting went into a closed-door session, said they had reached agreements the previous night on all the 12 disputed issues, adding that implementation would start from the next working day (Monday).

Speaking on the issue of nonpayment of some house officers, the minister said that NARD was expected to submit the list of the affected 114 officers for further verification, and when it is confirmed that they are genuine, and their IPPIS particulars and BVN are in order, they would be paid in September.

He added that an agreement was reached on the Residency Training Fund outstanding for 2020 and 2021, after the Budget Office had explained that N617, 429, 121 was the outstanding to be paid in the 2020.

The minister disclosed that the meeting agreed that by next Friday, August 27, residents in institutions would have started getting their money, with each receiving about N542,000.

He noted that the issue of consequential adjustment on national minimum wage cut across health and educational sectors, which were both affected by the projection of N160billion done in 2019, but which fell short of the people that were to benefit.