BY CHIDI NKWOPARA
OWERRI—Irked by the continued abduction and periodic murder of their members in Imo State, the leadership of Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, Imo State branch, yesterday called out its members on a peaceful demonstration.

The doctors carried several placards depicting their plight, including the abduction and eventual death of Dr. Moses Amako and called on the state government to act fast or risk losing grip of the medical sub-sector.

Addressing journalists, NMA Chairman, Dr. Barth Okorochukwu, said: “The insecurity in the land has reached an alarming stage that healthcare delivery is threatened.”

Okorochukwu reasoned that when those who provide care do not feel safe enough to come to practice their profession, let alone come out at odd hours, it would leave so much to be desired.

Making particular reference to Amako’s death, Okorochukwu not only wondered why the doctor’s car was riddled with bullets but also sought to know why he was shot and kept in unhygienic conditions by his abductors for several days.

He said: “Why would the doctor be allowed to die from complications arising from the gunshot?”

….As Ngige wants doctors, Anambra govt impasse resolved
Awka—Senator Chris Ngige has called for resolution of the disagreement between Anambra State Government and striking doctors.

Ngige, who made the call in Awka yesterday at the annual conference of the state chapter of  Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, said the call became necessary to save the health sector from imminent collapse.

Ngige, a former governor of the state, stressed the need for a round table conference between the government and the doctors to resolve the dispute in the interest of the suffering masses.

The former governor expressed regrets that the protracted strike by government doctors had brought untold hardship and death of many patients in the state.

He said the strike had also resulted in the non-accreditation of some health facilities in the state, noting that a quicker resolution of the problem through dialogue had become imperative.

Earlier, the state Chairman of NMA, Dr Emmanuel Ekwesianya, said that the state government had not called the doctors for a round table conference since the strike began.