Doctors suspend nationwide strike temporarily

The National Association of Resident Doctors has suspended temporarily its 10-day-old strike.
This is to enable the association monitor the level of Federal Government’s compliance with the agreement reached.
The temporary suspension is for two weeks.
The two weeks period is to afford the doctors enough time to further discuss with the Federal Government to arrive at final solutions to the contentious issues.
The doctors would, however, resume the strike if the discussion with the government fails.
The National Executive Council of NARD took the decision at its meeting in Abuja.
The meeting, which commenced on Tuesday, ended in the wee hours of Thursday.
A statement by the President of the NARD, Dr. Onyebueze John, in the early hours of Thursday confirmed the development.
The statement reads in full: “The National Executive Council of NARD met from 6pm, Tuesday, 12th September to 12:15am, Thursday, 14th September 2017 to review the status of our nationwide strike and the offer from Government in the re-negotiated Memorandum of Terms of Settlement (MTS) with Government.
“After due consideration of the efforts by Government and progress made in addressing the items on the notice of our ultimatum, and strike, as well as implementing the contents of the re-negotiated MTS, NARD resolved to suspend her 10 days strike, and to reassess situation in two weeks at our AGM in Abuja.
“We sincerely thank the public, press and our families for their support during this period of strike.”
The Chairman of NARD, University College Hospital, Ibadan chapter, Dr. Segun Olaopa, also said: “The decision was reached following appeals from the public that the doctors should give the Federal Government more time to meet their demands.”
Doctors had appealed to Nigerians to bear the situation as members of the association were pressing the government to improve the healthcare delivery system in the country.
NARD embarked on a nationwide indefinite strike to press home a six-point demand.
The association had on September 6 laid out terms of settlement with the Federal Government after the two parties met to resolve the crisis.
The doctors are protesting the sack of some of their colleagues, non-payment of “skipping” entitlement, non-inclusion in the IPPIS platform and non-payment of their salary arrears.
The Federal Government had agreed it will pay the arrears and commence the inclusion of NARD members on the IPPIS platform.
Dr. Arikawe Adeolu, a member of the National Executive Council of NARD, had said the association was waiting on the Federal Government to redeem its pledge before the strike could be called off.
Adeolu said more than half of members of the association were yet to receive their arrears, claiming that government is also yet to meet its other demands in the terms of settlement.
He said the association would therefore hold a meeting to assess the response of government to its demands.