May 31, 2018

The Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), on Thursday warned that it may proceed on strike if the Federal Government failed to facilitate the reinstatement of its members sacked by the University of Jos Teaching Hospital.

The Publicity and Social Secretary of NARD, Dr Ugochukwu Eze said at a press conference in Kaduna that the 21-day ultimatum issued for the reinstatement of the sacked doctors expires today, May 31.

He recalled that the first ultimatum issued on the matter expired on May 2, 2018, and was extended by another three weeks to give room for proper dialogue.

According to Eze, the doctors also want the government to meet up with all outstanding agreements contained in the September 6, 2017 Memorandum of Terms of Settlement entered with the government.

“The September 2017 strike was suspended to allow government complete implementation of the terms of settlement but there are still unmet agreements.

“NARD leadership may not be able to guarantee continuous industrial harmony should our legitimate agitations be ignored by government,” he stressed.

He noted that since the commencement of strike by the Joint Health Sector Workers Union, healthcare services in the country has been anchored on the shoulders of resident doctors, as such government should reciprocate the good will by addressing their problems.