Resident Doctors Issue Ultimatum To FG To Meet Pending Demands

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors has issued a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to commence the implementation of all pending agreements or face industrial action.

NARD gave the ultimatum after its Extraordinary National Executive Council meeting held via Zoom on Wednesday.

Speaking exclusively with journalists, NARD President, Dr Emeka Orji, said, “We are issuing a two-week ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet our demands with effect from Wednesday to Friday, July 19, 2023.

“Unfortunately, none of the demands that made us embark on the five-day warning strike have been met. The government has not attended to any of them even after signing the Memorandum of Understanding. All the timelines on the demands have passed.

“The circular for one-on-one replacement was signed in the MoU that it will be released on or before June 5, 2023. It is over a month, nothing has been done and it has not been released. The government says the payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund will be done when the 2023 fiscal year starts; we learnt the fiscal year started last month and up till now, it has not been paid.

 “If the government does not meet our demands at the end of the ultimatum on July 19, industrial harmony cannot be guaranteed and from the feelers we have, it will no longer be a warning strike, it will definitely be an indefinite strike.”

Resident doctors in the country embarked on a five-day warning strike on May 17 to 21, 2023, to press home their demands.