The nationwide strike embarked upon by Medical doctors in the employment of the Federal Government of Nigeria, has constituted a threat to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.
The strike, which commenced on Monday, September 8, 2020, means that amongst other ailments, people suspected to be infected with the coronavirus will no longer be diagnosed, and even those already in isolation will be left to their fate.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, the President of the Association of Resident Doctors at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Dr. Amadi Solomon, hinted that the strike is the last hope of the doctors to demand for their due.
He explained that when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, the Federal Government reached an agreement with health workers, “that they were going to pay an inducement (allowance to health workers), because we know that COVID-19 was affecting mostly people in the health sector.
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“They said they were going to pay an inducement for six months, and also review our harzard allowance, which is N5,000. They said they were going to pay the first three months, and renegotiate the next three months”, Solomon said.
According to him, when the Federal Government finally decided to pay, “they paid some people for April and May (2020), and also paid about six institutions in Nigeria for June, one from each geo-political zone, of which UPTH is part.
“The payment of other institutions was abandoned. The people that did not receive for April and May, they’re not also talking about it”, he said, adding that “they also abandoned the renegotiation of the next three months”.
While emphasising on the grouse of the doctors over what he called “the Government’s refusal” to keep to the agreement, in response to what will be the worst that can happen, if the Federal Government maintains its stand, Dr Solomon said, “the worst thing that can happen is what will happen”.
