From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners has expressed their strong align in solidarity with the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) that Federal Government should rescind its decision on the removal of fuel subsidy.
The group in a statement jointly signed by the National President, Sofiri Starson-Peterside Junior and the National Secretary, Enobong Akpan, called on the Federal Government to urgently suspend the removal of fuel subsidy and revert to the old pump price of PMS to avert the looming multi-sectoral industrial disharmony that may grind the country to a halt.
The group also demanded that the country’s refineries should be revamped to functional capacity as soon as possible, and licenses should be given for the establishment of more refineries to encourage local production of petroleum products.
The National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners, however, called on Federal Government to institute measures to stop crude oil theft, secure the borders and stop leakages within the oil and gas sector.
It also called on the Federal Government to set up a committee to audit the subsidy regime since its inception and the use of funds recurrently allocated for
repair of the refineries, as well as prosecute culprits.
The group equally stressed urgent need for the Federal Government to strengthen healthcare financing by ensuring at least 15 percent budgetary allocation to the health sector.
It further said there is the need to achieve the universal health coverage through primary healthcare and National-State health insurance schemes across the country in order to reduce out-of-pocket expenses and guarantee accessible and affordable healthcare.