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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, is to meet with President Bola Tinubu as part of efforts to avert the planned industrial action by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
Abbas, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, said the meeting to discuss with the President issues raised by the resident doctors, and seek ways to resolve them.
The speaker, according to the statement, during a meeting with the NARD leadership, on Monday, announced the constitution of an ad hoc committee to be chaired by the House Leader, Julius Ihonvbere.
The panel is expected to
meet with all the stakeholders with a view to addressing the issues.
The panel included the immediate past chairman of the 9th House Committee on Healthcare Services, Tanko Sununu, as the deputy chairman, while all medical practitioners in the House would be co-opted into the ad hoc committee.
The statement quoted Abbas as appealing to the resident doctors led by Dr. Emeka Innocent Orji to suspend your action by two weeks.
“I assure you that I’ll set up an ad hoc committee on this matter today. I also want to assure you that I’ll meet with the President between today and tomorrow and brief him on what’s happening.
“I plead with you to talk to your members that we have intervened again, and that within two weeks, we’ll take all the necessary actions.”
It added that NARD promised to revert to their members on the Speaker’s appeal.
Before the parley went into an executive session, Abass said the parliament was aware of the sacrifices of the resident doctors in the health sector, despite their poor condition of service.
“Your decision to meet with the House is an affirmation of your faith and confidence in our capacity to intervene and resolve the lingering issues in dispute. This is most reassuring owing to the fact that the 9th Assembly had previously intervened in this matter. We hope to even go beyond the steps and actions taken by the previous House to ensure that we find a lasting resolution to the ever lingering crisis.
“We are not unmindful of the many sacrifices Resident Doctors have continued to make in the health sector in spite of the many challenges you face and the poor conditions within which you work. While many of your colleagues have left the shores of our country in pursuit of better working conditions, you have chosen to remain behind in service to the fatherland. We commend you for this and assure you, that we would deploy every legislative instrument available to us to ensure that you are fully compensated and rewarded for this act of patriotism.”
He added that “We must approach these issues with an open mind and guided by the fact that revenues available to the government may not fully meet our demands. Therefore, we must find a middle ground that satisfies everyone without prejudice to the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
“We particularly note that your demands include the payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund, upward review of Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and salary arrears dating back to 2015. These issues and more can be resolved without embarking on an industrial action.
“In this regard therefore, we urge you to appeal to your members to be patient while we find an amicable resolution. Given your faith in us, I would urge you to suspend the impending industrial action while we intervene. We equally seek your understanding of the fact that a new administration just came on board and still in the process of settling down as Ministers are yet to assume office.”
