NARD directs resident doctors to proceed on indefinite strike

The National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria has directed its members nationwide to proceed on an indefinite strike from Tuesday.
The President of NARD, Dr. Jibril Abdullahi, gave the directive when he addressed newsmen in Kano and expressed regrets over the untold hardship the decision might cause Nigerians.
“But we call on all well-meaning citizens to prevail on the government of the federation to respond appropriately,” Abdullahi said.
Abdullahi said NARD was protesting what it described as the poor funding of the residency training of its members.
He said NARD had demanded that the funding gap be improved through supplementary budgets, but that the Federal Government had not responded.
The NARD president said however that the directive became necessary in view of Federal Government’s failure to meet the union’s demands as contained in its earlier ultimatum.
He said the ultimatum expired at midnight of September 30.
“The decision to go on an indefinite strike was taken during an extraordinary National Executive Council meeting of the association held at the National Hospital in Abuja,” Abdullahi said.
He said the association was in addition giving the Enugu State Government a 21-day ultimatum from Monday September 30, as required by law.
The NARD president said the ultimatum was for it to commence the implementation of CONMESS for Resident Doctors at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital.
“Failure to do this shall result in the staged withdrawal of services, first in Enugu State, then the whole of South Eastern Nigeria and finally nationwide,” he said.
Abdullahi said the NARD NEC meeting had also condemned, in strong terms “the continuous victimisation of its members” at the Federal Medical Centre in Owerri, Imo State by its Chief Medical Director.
He said NARD was protesting what it described as the poor funding of the residency training of its members.