The Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria, the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria, and the Nigerian Union of Allied Health Professionals have joined the Association of Resident Doctors, Federal Capital Territory, to shut down hospitals in Abuja.
The unions disclosed this in a joint press conference on Tuesday at Wuse District Hospital, Abuja, adding that it is inhumane for the FCT Civil Service Commission to sack health workers without due process and diligence.
The FCT Resident Doctors declared a three-day warning strike starting Tuesday over the sacking of 127 health workers by the Civil Service Commission, FCT.
The secretary of MDCAN, Dr. Aderonke Akande, lamented that health workers in FCT are unfairly treated, hence, demanded the immediate reinstatement of the sacked health workers and payment of their April salaries.
“Recently, we received with root shock maltreatment of our fellow workers, the healthcare workers in the FCT. So this message emanated from the Chairman of the FCTA civil service commission, in which over 127 healthcare workers were tagged, absconded, and also had their salaries stopped”.
“So this shows a breach in due process and maltreatment of healthcare workers in the FCT when you don’t have a transparent mechanism and framework for verifying the status of your staff; then it becomes worrisome”.
“As part of our demand, everybody on that list should be reinstated into the payroll immediately”.
“Also, requested that their salary be paid. In this economic reality, you are telling people that they are absconding. That’s the greatest of all embarrassments,” she stated.
Pharmacist Afunu Umaru of AHAPN and Comrade Henry Oshowo, secretary of NUAHP, in their statements re-echoed the agony faced by health workers in Abuja, demanding the urgent intervention of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
Dr. George Ebong, president of ARD, urged the FCT Minister to end the injustice health workers are experiencing in FCT, while calling for the sack of FCT Civil Service Commission Chairman, Emeka Ezeh, over gross incompetence.
“We know that the minister doesn’t indulge in any form of injustice, so we’re pleading with him to fix this problem, because if you move around every other hospital, everywhere is quiet. No one is working.”
