Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has said its National Executive Council (NEC) will reconvene tomorrow to take a decision on the suspended nationwide protest and the ongoing strike by the association.
The association’s president, Dr Emeji Orji, told journalists that NARD had a meeting with the government and the senate and had given the government 72 hours from Tuesday night, to address the urgent demands of the doctors.
He said if the government fails to meet these urgent demands, which include the replacement of doctors who have left the country, the NEC of the association will reconvene and give further directives.
“We had a meeting with the government and senate president, they asked us to give them 24 hours. With this intervention, we cannot continue with the protest. We are giving them 72 hours. If our urgent demands are not met, our NEC will reconvene to give further directives; to decide if we are suspending the protest indefinitely,” he explained.
The striking doctors had threatened to embark on a nationwide mass protests and picketing of the Federal Ministry of Health, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, as well as all federal and state tertiary health institutions nationwide, with effect from Wednesday, 9th August 2023.
Orji said the suspended mass protest was to press home their demands which, according to him, have been largely neglected by the Federal Ministry of Health and the federal government.
The doctors had commenced an indefinite strike over what they described as failure of the government to meet their demands.
