Doctors’ strike: Reps threaten to order health minister’s arrest
The House of Representatives yesterday threatened to issue a warrant of arrest against Minister of Health Onyebuchi Chukwu for refusing to attend a rescheduled meeting with the lawmakers to end the ongoing doctors’ strike.
The House observed that Chukwu was not showing any commitment toward ending the strike as he failed to attend a meeting with the committee on health which was rescheduled from Monday to yesterday.
Briefing the lawmakers at plenary on the outcome of their meeting with the health stakeholders yesterday, chairman of the committee on health Rep Godwin Ndudi Elumelu (PDP, Delta) said the minister and his officials do not want the doctors’ strike to end any time soon.
He said the committee after holding a partial meeting with stakeholders on Monday decided to reschedule it to yesterday morning as finance minister Ngozi OkonjoIweala; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim; Head of Service, Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji and Director-General of the Budget Office, Bright Okogu were all absent and did not send any representative.
But at yesterday’s meeting, the lawmakers waited up till about 11:30am but none of the officials turned up, with only minister of labour Emeka Wogu, a representative of the SGF and chairman of the Salaries and Wages Commission available.
Chukwu who had attended Monday’s meeting did not turn up and did not send any representative, a situation which angered the lawmakers. Elumelu suggested to the House that Chukwu and the other government officials be re-summoned but that should he fail, the House should invoke its constitutional powers on warrant of arrest.
Minority whip Samson Osagie suggested that Chukwu should be made to appear before the committee within 24 hours.
However, ruling on the matter, Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal directed that Chukwu should expeditiously attend to the committee, otherwise the House would resort to other ways of forcing him to attend.
Meanwhile, Wogu told journalists at the end of the deadlocked meeting that the government was discussing with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) to end the strike soon.
Reacting, NMA president Doctor Kayode Obembe expressed disappointment with the way the matter is being handled, saying progress could not be made with the way top government officials take the issue.