Resident doctors’ strike will end soon – Health minister

The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Thursday assured Nigerians that the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) will end its strike “very soon.”

The minister stated this during the inauguration of the South-West Traditional Leaders’ Committee on Public Health Delivery at Ile Oodua palace, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

He said the Federal Government would leave no stone unturned in the efforts at ending the strike in the interest of Nigerians.

The resident doctors embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike on August 1 over an unpaid backlog of salaries and allowances, among others.

Ehanire said: “This is a time when we face different challenges in the health sector due to the adverse effect of COVID-19. It is not the best time for doctors to be going on strike. We are working to ensure that they resume soonest and I want to assure Nigerians that this would be achieved very soon.”

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The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who was also at the forum, charged the federal government to find a lasting solution to the dispute.

He said: “I am aware of the government’s relentless efforts towards ending the strike as quickly as possible but Nigerians cannot wait any further.

“The strike action has brought a lot of hardships to Nigerians especially the poor and other vulnerable persons who cannot afford privately-owned health facilities which obviously is now the alternative.”

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