The House of Representatives has appealed to resident doctors to consider the light of Nigerians and end its strike which is currently on its 9th day.
On April 1, 2021, the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike over failure of the Federal Government to honour various demands.
Speaking on Friday , April 9, 2021, in Abuja, the lawmakers, in a meeting which lasted for about 5 hours, told doctors that many Nigerians rely on their services to stay healthy and source for their livelihood.
Speaking at the parlay, the Chairman of the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Hon. Tanko Sununu, assured the doctors that the parliament would take up their grievances with the appropriate authorities.
He appealed, “Please consider the plight of a common man who has to go and source for what to eat on daily basis.
“If these people fall sick they have nowhere to go, not all of us can afford to go to private hospitals; please consider their plight and tamper justice with mercy and call off the strike.”
Sununu, who said the meeting was progressive, also disclosed that they both agreed that hazard allowance for doctors must be reviewed with immediate effect nationwide.
The lawmaker said “N5,000 remains quite unacceptable but we have not agreed on any figure, that will be left for the Ministry to decide because they have already initiated that discussion and we leave them for that discussion.”
He also added that they came to an agreement that the overall budget of Medical Residency Training Fund should be moved to the National Postgraduate Medical College as assigned by the Act.
Going further, the legislator said both parties also agreed that the one thousand and three NARD members who were being owed hazard allowances would be paid directly.
Sununu added that a memo should be made for the remaining 446 members of NARD that had not paid for the National Postgraduate College so that their payment could also be effected within the shortest time.
A committee that would audit all the activities of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) in the last five years was also raised at the meeting, he added, to ensure the capacity and ability of MDCN to carry out its mandate.
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