By Chioma Obinna

TheFederal government yesterday cleared the air on the ongoing strike, describing it as unnecessary.

In a press statement, the Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi wondered why the doctors have remained on strike after government signed memorandum of understanding and have almost met all their demands.

The statement reads; “You will recall that a few weeks ago, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) served notice of a nationwide strike to commence on the 1st of July, 2014 on the basis of what it termed a 24-Point Demand. On receipt of this notice the Federal Government held a meeting with the association on 25 th June, 2014.

At the end of the meeting chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, with the Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity, the Honourable Minister of State for Health, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and other senior government officials in attendance and which lasted for 14 hours, both the government and the NMA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which addressed all the 24 issues presented by the NMA.

”To be sure, almost all the issues in contention were either issues that had been satisfactorily resolved or issues that could be treated merely through administrative mechanism. “The signed MoU was to have apprehended the nationwide strike that was threatened by the association.”

However, the Nigerian Medical Association jettisoned the MoU and proceeded on strike on the 1st of July 2014.

”Despite reneging on the MoU, the government immediately invited the NMA to series of meetings on 1 st July, 2014 yet this could not dissuade the NMA from the strike they had embarked on. Another meeting that was planned for 2 nd July, 2014 was aborted when the NMA officials failed to show up.

However, the NMA honoured another meeting schedule for Thursday, 3rd July, 2014 under the auspices of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. In attendance were the Governor of Delta State, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, the Honourable Minister of Health, the Honourable Minister of Labour and Productivity, the Honourable Minister of State for Health, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, the Chairman of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and other relevant senior government officials.

He further explained: “At the end of the meeting which lasted for 10 hours, another MoU was signed. As I speak to you, the government has met its own side of the MoU and it is expected that the members of the NMA would from today begin to respond and attend to all emergency cases in public hospitals in the spirit of this understanding.

”It is also expected that the NMA will call off the strike after its Emergency Delegates Meeting scheduled for next Monday, 7th July, 2014.

”The Federal Government is not unaware of the suffering and hardship that the strike action has imposed on the generality of Nigerians but wish to reassure all Nigerians that not only does the

government disapprove of this unnecessary strike action but has made every effort to negotiate with the NMA and ensure the immediate resumption of services in government hospitals.”

The statement further regretted the action of the NMA adding that, government is doing everything possible to mitigate the effects on Nigerians.

He appealed to all health professionals in public hospitals to avail themselves of the platform which has been provided by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan through his Presidential Committee of Experts on Inter-Professional Relationship in the Public Health Sector to present their grievances and await a comprehensive redress of same by the committee.

”I also want to remind all health workers that the ethics of their professions dictates that at all times emergency care must not be denied to those that need them, he added.