Doctors’ Strike Untimely, Says Ehanire

Emma Okonji and Nosa Alekhuogie

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, yesterday said the on-going doctor’s strike is untimely and unnecessary considering the critical health challenges posed by COVID-19, which Nigerians and the entire world are currently facing.

Ehanire, who spoke on ARISE NEWS Night, said some things were critical, which doctors must avoid by calling off the on-going strike. According to him, “There is cholera outbreak and Nigeria is already witnessing the third wave of COVID-19. These and many others are critical factors that doctors need to address by calling off the strike, in order to save lives of people. This is a wrong time for doctors to go on strike.”

He explained that the federal government had had several meetings with the striking doctors and that some of their demands were purely administrative and some centred around state governments, and that the federal government would not interfere in state matters.

“Their demands that concern the federal government are already been addressed. The federal government has not said it will not pay doctors’ salaries and allowances. What government is doing is to clean up some minor grey areas like names miss-spelt, names omission and double payment. Once all these are addressed, their monies will be released. We are at risk when doctors think of themselves alone without looking at the dangers around sick people who are not been attended to,” Ehanire said.

He denied not attending some of the meetings with doctors, saying that most times he sends his Minister of State for Health and most times he attends himself.

Ehanire, who said the federal government was worried that Nigerian doctors are leaving the country in their large numbers in search of better salary and welfare, said such movement was unnecessary and untimely at a critical time when Nigerians needed their services the most. He expressed worries that the doctors leaving the country were trained in Nigeria with tax payers’ money and that it would be unfair on their part, if they abandon Nigerians, when their services are most needed in the country.

He said government would look into the demands of doctors and treat them accordingly in order to keep the doctors in Nigeria.

He said although the federal government has the right to hire doctors from outside of Nigeria to replace doctors who are leaving the country, he, however, explained that government had no such plans at the moment. He therefore, advised the doctors not to doubt the sincerity of the federal government in addressing their demands.