The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) says the comments of
Chris Ngige, minister of labour, regarding the doctors strike is capable of
escalating brain drain in Nigeria.
The doctors embarked on an indefinite strike on Thursday
over salary arrears, among other issues.
The minister had threatened the Nigerian Association of
Resident Doctors (NARD) that he will invoke “weapons in the labour laws” if
they refuse to back down on the ongoing strike.
He had also claimed that resident doctors in the US foot the
bill for their residency training programme.
In a joint statement, Innocent Ujah and Philip Ekpe,
president and secretary-general of NMA, described Ngige’s comments as hate
speech.
“In as much as we appreciate the efforts being made by the
government to resolve the issues that have led to this avoidable and
unnecessary industrial action by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors
(NARD), the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) wishes to clarify the
misinformation by the Minister in the interview, which is seriously viewed to
be a hate speech capable of bringing down the health system in Nigeria and
thereby worsening the health care delivery and further escalate the rather
unimaginable current brain drain,” the statement read.
“In the United States of America and other developed
countries, Resident Doctors work as they are being trained and they are paid by
their employers.
“In the United Kingdom, the employer of Resident Doctors is
the NHS, which is similar to what is obtainable in Nigeria.
“Furthermore, Residents also pay to take their postgraduate
Medical examinations in the developed countries, which is what also obtains in
Nigeria.
“The NMA is totally in disagreement with the way and manner
some government functionaries carry out their duties which is completely
insensitive to the plight of the people.
“Accountability is the fulcrum for good governance in all
facets and we do not demand anything less from those charged with the
responsibility of governing the people.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com