DELTA State Governor, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, Friday assured of early call
off of the nation-wide strike action by the Nigeria Medical Association
(NMA) which has crippled hospital services, hinting that the strike would
be called off in the next few days.
The Governor who fielded questions from Journalists in Asaba, Delta State
observed that lives have been lost as a result of the strike action
disclosing that he has met with all the parties involved in the industrial
face off and members of NMA have agreed that if they could not call off
the strike action, skeletal services would be rendered for the sake of
lives of Nigerians.
“If you recall, the Doctors gave a warning strike sometime in December,
2013, they were to go on another strike early January but, we had to
intervene and some agreements were reached with the Federal Government,”
the Governor said, adding, “I understand that some of those agreements
that were reached have not been fulfilled and that is some of the reasons
they had to go on strike that started on the 1st of July.”
He said he had to move to Abuja when the strike commenced and put together
a team of some medical doctors in government including the Chairman,
Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa; Dr. Doyin Okupe Special
Adviser to Mr. President on Public Communications, and held a meeting with
the government team led by the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, Senator Pius Ayim; Minister for Health; Minister of State for
Health; Minister for Labour; and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of
Health.
“Thereafter we held a special meeting with them and discussed the major
issues, we then brought in the officials of the Nigerian Medical
Association (NMA) and extensive meetings were held till quite late into
the night.”
“I think reasonably some of the issues have been resolved and hopefully,
emergency services should start very soon, by God’s grace in the next few
days because, they still need to meet with the delegates (I think they
call it the emergency delegate meeting) in the next few days hopefully,”
the Governor stated.
He also, debunked insinuations that the strike action have political
undertone, asserting: “Having met with both sides, I will not read
political meaning into it, I didn’t pick up any political undertone to it
and I think that they might be some challenges with the management of the
issues at one point or the other but, both parties involved in the issue
met and I cannot read political meaning to the strike action.”
“Some of us don’t believe in strike and I personally do not believe strike
is the best means of achieving whatever I want to achieve, there is no
doubt that there are challenges in the health sector especially, with the
doctors and sometimes some of the attitude of those of us in government
and the way we operate can push workers to go on strike,” he added.
He decried the situation where strike has to be embarked upon to resolve
the issues at stake saying: “When I heard about this particular strike
action, I will say I was taken aback, I was surprised because I didn’t
know it had gotten to an extent where the officials will go on strike
because, as much as possible the medical profession should be one of the
set of workers that should be very wary of strike because, for every
minute of strike, lives are lost and for lives that are lost you can never
get the life back and that is why I had to work with the then NMA
President to see how we could talk to ourselves on the issue of strike.”
On why he intervened to see to the end of the strike action, he said it
was based on the fact that he is a medical doctor, a concerned citizen and
as Governor of a state who was not comfortable with the strike action.
“I’m intervening on many fronts: I’m intervening as a Medical Doctor
because each time I hear of strike in the medical profession I get very
embarrassed, secondly, I think as a Governor of a state, at least one of
the persons who has the reach within members of NMA and that is why I used
to tell people that, if you have the reach to be able to intervene on any
issue just try and do it, so, I am also intervening because with my
position as a Governor of a state, I have some reach to those that are
concerned that can resolve the matter,” Dr Uduaghan stated.