Nigerian doctors vote to end strike

Nigerian doctors have voted to suspend their indefinite strike which started on July 1, 2014.

TheCable understands that at an emergency delegates meeting on Saturday night, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) decided to call off the strike when 199 out of 265 delegates voted in favour of returning to work.

There were 66 votes against calling off the strike, while four delegates abstained from voting.

The NMA president, Dr. Kayode Obembe, thereafter declared that the strike had been called off.

The association was yet to issue a statement on Saturday night but said on its twitter handle, @nmanigeria: “BREAKING!!! NMA rose from an Emergency Delegates Meeting and decided that the #NMAStrike be suspended with ALL Doctors resuming duties ISQ.”

It also said: “This means that NO Doctor in the country would be victimised in whatever form as a result of participation in the #NMAStrike. Details later.”

The doctors were demanding, among other things, improvement in the service conditions of resident doctors as well as upgrading of the nation’s medical facilities.

But President Goodluck Jonathan had, in the heat of the strike, decided to end the residency programme at the teaching hospitals ─ a decision that would have led to the sack of 16,000 resident doctors.

The strike came at a time Nigerian started recording Ebola cases.

It is now understood that Jonathan would change his mind on the residency programme.

Senate President David Mark met with NMA leaders early last week, after which Obembe promised that the strike would be ended “soon”.

The association had, early August, resolved to call off the action following “positive talks” with the federal government but a faction had insisted on continuing.

Obembe swiftly resigned, saying in a statement: “There has been a request for clarification about the two postings from NMA secretariat on NMA blog. I want to make it categorically clear that I stand by every letter of the document I signed ─ ‘that the strike was suspended.’

“And since upon my integrity and honour, I cannot continue to drive the doctrine that ‘strike continues,’ I hereby tender my letter of resignation as NMA president. What I have written, I have written.”

He later rescinded his decision to resign.