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House of Representatives Committee on Health, will on Monday meet with representatives of the National Association of Residents Doctors (NARD) to discuss ways towards ending the ongoing strike embarked upon by the association.
President of the association, Dr Okhuaihesuyi Uyilawa, via a phone interview with Sunday Tribune, said since the commencement of the strike last Monday, the association got no response from the Ministry of Health except threat.
He added that only Honourable Tanko Sununu, chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Health, has shown interest in meeting with the association to discuss ways of resolving the strike.
He said: “We got a threat from the Minister of Health that we don’t have right to go on strike. Apart from this threat, we have not heard anything from the Ministry of Labour. The only person that has called us for a meeting is Honourable Tanko Sununu, chairman, House Committee on Health. He told us to expect an invite to meet with his committee on Monday.
“The strike continues. The worst they could do is to arrest me for doing the right thing, for calling for an improved health care system and welfare package for Nigeria’s doctors. If the government had done the needful, we would not have gone on strike.
“So, I am appealing to Nigerians to bear with us and hold the government responsible for what is happening.”
Investigations by Sunday Tribune with patients at public health facilities nationwide revealed that many were left unattended to while only a few consultants attended to scores of patients. Those that needed urgent medical attention and had the means sought help at private hospitals while many others resorted to telemedicine
