In a press release by the Deputy Director of Press, Federal
Ministry of Health, Alhaji Isiaka Yusuf, the Federal Government said it had to
do so after exploring all avenues to end the strike, which it said had
compounded the health crisis in the country. It would be recalled that the
Nigeria Medical Association had directed its members natiuonwide to go on
strike on July 1. The National Association of Resident Doctors, an affiliate of
the NMA, has put its numerical strentgh at about 16,000. The situation has been
compounded by the recent importation of the Ebola Virus Disease into Nigeria on
July 20, 2014. Following the Presidential declaration of a National Public
Health Emergency on Ebola Disease, which has united the entire country in the
efforts to contain the disease, it is quite regrettable that the people who
should take leadership role in the fight against the Ebola disease are now the
most unsupportive,’ the statement said. The resident doctors were
unceremoniously relieved of their jobs after the Minister of Health, Prof.
Onyebuchi Chukwu, on Wednesday, issued a directive terminating the residency
training programme for doctors in the country until further notice.
The PUNCH learnt that the development, however, was without prejudice
to the employment of locum doctors on six months renewable contract tied to
excellent performance. In a circular by the Permanent Secretary, Federal
Ministry of Health, Mr. L.N. Awute, to all Chief Medical Directors and medical
directors in public hospitals across the country, said the development was for
the purposes of appraising the challenges in the health sector’.
Punch Newspaper
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