Fayemi to resident doctors: Make a compelling case — but don’t use strikes

Kayode Fayemi, governor of Ekiti state, has asked the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to make a compelling case but without using strikes.

Speaking at the 100th anniversary of the Association of General and Private Medical Practitioners of Nigeria (AGPMPN) in Abuja on Thursday, Fayemi said the issues resident doctors have raised are important.

In July, resident doctors embarked on a strike over the failure of the federal government to implement an agreement, bordering on their pay and allowances.

Represented by Banji Filani, Ekiti commissioner of health, the governor said the doctors should be able to make their case in such a way that will draw sympathy to them.

“I would like to touch briefly on the ongoing strike by the NARD,” he said.

“Whilst the issues raised are relevant, the effectiveness of strikes as a tool for negotiation are up for debate.

“As doctors, our approach to labour and other work related issues must focus on compelling and irrefutable arguments that provide opportunities to gain friends/sympathies across several industries.”

Fayemi said his administration has used the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen public health security in the state.

“In Ekiti state for instance, we have taken advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen our public health security,” he said.

“We have decentralised testing to 145 testing centres, the highest in the country, and improved our disease surveillance capacity to pick up early signals of possible outbreaks.

“To set the state on the right path, and enable us to match our ambition with our vision, we tripled our capital budget from N1bn to N3.2bn in 2021. In addition, we have deepened our public financial management processes by consolidating donor resources into our budget.

“We have earmarked resources to fund a defined and explicit set of high impact services/interventions to be provided across the state. Working with global partners in the health financing space, staff at our Health Insurance agency, recently undertook an executive course on health financing.”