Ngige: I thought it was April Fool’s joke, when doctors went on strike

When doctors in Nigeria went on strike, Labour Minister Chris Ngige joked that they were playing a joke on him.

On Friday, the minister stated that the government will put an end to the National Association of Resident Doctors’ nationwide strike (NARD).

Ngige addressed the Nigerian Health Commissioners Forum Quarterly Meeting in Abuja.

President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, according to Ngige, is doing everything possible to accommodate doctors.

He recalled that in the first instance, public health workers were given N32 billion as a special COVID-19 hazard allowance for three months.

State governments, according to Ngige, were advised to pay as much as they could.

He described how the situation deteriorated, saying that in September 2020, NARD issued a strike notice while requesting funding from the Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF).

They asked for N542,000 each to cover the cost of books and journals for the examination, as well as transportation and lodging for three days.

Since the supplementary budget was being put together at the time, Ngige added, the doctors’ demand was included, fulfilled, and the strike was called off.

They listed other things by March 2021, according to the minister, and complained that the Residency Training Fund was not included in the 2021 budget.

”They also demanded that States domesticate the Residency Training Act and upgrade the hazard allowance.

“They went on strike on April 1 before we could say Jack Robinson. I thought it was an April Fool’s joke until we didn’t see them at work on April 2nd.

“I told them that they didn’t give their employers the required 21-day notice, and they wrote to me to complain.”

Read also: Police arrest 1,503 high-profile criminal suspects and rescue 393 victims, IGP reacts

The 2021 Residency Training Fund, according to Ngige, was eventually captured in the supplementary budget, and the funds are now available.

He also revealed that the federal government approved N11.3 billion for Group Life Insurance in 2020 and that it was renewed in 2021.

The government met with the NMA-JOHESU joint committee on hazard allowance several times until the unions disagreed and demanded separate negotiations, according to the minister.