The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) on Monday described Governor Dapo Abiodun’s attack on the striking Residents Doctors as “unbecoming and disappointing.”
The body also said the 300 percent increment for medical workers’ hazard allowance as announced by the governor was mere “blackmail and tricky.
It will be recalled that Abiodun had tongue – lashed striking Resident Doctors at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, whose action he labeled “irresponsible and politically motivated.”
The ARD OOUTH had penultimate Friday, announced commencement of industrial action, following the state government’s refusal to yield to their agitations for improved welfare package.
Prior to this, the association had embarked on a three-day warning strike, a development which forced the government into a negotiation with the aggrieved doctors.
But, the governor while addressing newsmen in Abeokuta, expressed worry that medical doctors are demanding pay hike despite the effect of COVID – 19 on the economy.
Abiodun said the strike was “appalling and a breach of trust” considering the fact that the government has interfaced with ARD leadership and “has done everything to meet their demands.”
Miffed by the governor’s comments, the State Chairman of NMA, Dr Ismail Lawal told newsmen on Monday in Abeokuta that the governor’s attack on the striking doctors demanding their rights, was condemnable.
Lawal said the governor should address the aggrieved doctors’ agitation rather than resort to name calling.
“In fact, as a citizen of Ogun State, I am ashamed of myself and disappointed.
“That implies we are already grooming another constituted authority in the state.
“If you remember very well, we had a governor like that in Oyo state and at the end of the day, history is there to tell us what came after the issue,” the NMA Chairman said.
Lawal who maintained that the agitation predated coronavirus crisis, worried that the governor failed to show commitment to the doctors’ plight.
He, however, maintained that the medical practitioners would go back to the drawing board with a view to resolving the lingering crisis.
