Chairman and Secretary of the chapter, Dr Chimezie Okwuonu and Dr Robinson Ugwuanyi, respectively, made the warning in a statement issued in Umuahia on Friday.

The duo stated that medical practitioners on duty were being harassed by security operatives even as they were exempted from the 24-hour curfew imposed by Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu

They called on the state government and relevant agencies to address the development and protect members in the line of duty during the period.

“We can no longer tolerate the insult from the security agents who have been persistently harassing our members on the line of duty.

“If the government of Abia and her security personnel do not come up with practical and adequate measures to protect our members in the next 24 hours, we may be left with no choice than to ask our members to stay away from work till further notice.

“We also call on heads of health institutions in the state to liaise with the state government and security agents to end the harassment,’’ they added.

The chapter would set up an “Emergency Response Team’’ within the next 24 hours to assist in providing appropriate and timely medical interventions during this period, they stated.

The chairman and secretary urged NMA members in the state to give prompt attention to wounded victims of the on-going protest and encouraged them to be vigilant and to keep safe as they discharge their duties.

They declared that the association’s “2020 Physicians Week’’, which was billed to hold from Oct. 19 to Oct. 25 had been suspended.

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Obasanjo made the appeal at the opening ceremony of the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMD) National Executive Council meeting in Abeokuta.

A statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media to the former president Kehinde Akinyemi, on Friday, said Obasanjo, who was the Father of the Day at the occasion, urged the practitioners to take patients’ condition more paramount in their quest for better welfare.

“A major issue that I always want to talk about whenever I am in your midst, which I told you when you came visiting is the issue of going on strike anytime you want to show your displeasure particularly, government doctors.

“My position is that since the care for your patient is a major ethical issue of your profession, abandoning them to go on strike is even more unethical.

“You should rather fashion another way to show your displeasure and not doing so at the expense of your patients,” Obasanjo said.

The former president also called for the resuscitation of the old central medical store system in order to boost availability of drugs in the country.

“We used to have something like that in the past during the Western region. I don’t know whether we still have it.

“If we don’t, maybe this is time to return to it or have something near it, which will bring efficiency and affordability to our drug chain system,”he said.

The Secretary to the Ogun Government, Mr Tokunbo Talabi, who represented Gov. Dapo Abiodun, corroborated Obasanjo as he called for caution on industrial actions.

“I want you to look into what Baba Obasanjo has said on this issue of strike. You can get alternative for taxi drivers if they decide to go on strike, yes, we have Okada drivers, but, this is not so for you.

“God made you so special to save lives and you should live up to the expectation. We can devise other ways to save these lives, it is very important,” Talabi said.

The Ogun Chairman of NAGGMD, Dr Olufemi Odusote, in his address of welcome, said the theme for the 2019 NEC meeting, “The Importance of Supply Chain Management in Health Care System Straightening,” is very important in the face of health challenges.

These challenges, according to him , included manpower, brain drain and general welfare of members and security challenges had made doctors vulnerable.

He, however, expressed optimism that with all hands on deck, the nation would definitely get solutions to the challenges confronting the body.

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Olaopa said this in an interview with our reporter on Thursday in Ibadan.

He said the directive to suspend the strike was issued to state branches after the NEC of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), rose from its meeting with a delegation of the Federal Government in Abuja.

“Having held series of meetings with the federal government delegation on ways to resolve our pressing demands, the NEC decided that our members should go back to work while the official’s perfect paper works on our agreement.

“Rather than keeping the strike on pending when paper workers would be perfected on deliberations of the meetings, the national body instructed that we suspend the strike and go back to work.

“Government just started paying our August salary yesterday and again 72 per cent of it is being paid while other health workers received 100 per cent of their August salaries about three weeks ago.

“We hope government will live up to the expectation and honour all agreements between the two parties.

“Doctors do not like to abandon duties but when issues bordering on welfare and salaries are concerned, we are left with no choice than going on strike to press home our demands,” he said.

It was reported that activities at the UCH Ibadan have resumed fully in the wards as some of the residents have commenced consultations.

The Accident and Emergency Unit had once again become a bee-hive of activities with doctors attending to patients.

A patient who spoke to NAN on condition of anonymity said she was happy that the strike has been suspended.

She said government should always employ dialogue as a tool to solve industrial disputes, adding that government should respond to distress calls by workers in the health sector.

Recall that resident doctors commenced a nation-wide strike on Monday Sept. 4.
Some of the issues canvassed by NARD include the persistent shortfalls in allocations and unpaid arrears of salaries earned in both Federal and state tertiary health institutions.

Others include the enrolment of resident doctors into the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) since 2003; stagnation of promotion and non promotion of members who have met requisite criteria.

Also included is the implementation of adjusted House Officers’ entry grade level equivalent since 2014, in spite all collective bargaining agreements and circulars.

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The association’s UCH branch President, Dr Olusegun Olaopa, confirmed this in an interview with our correspondent in Ibadan.

Olaopa said that the commencement of the strike was in compliance with directives by the umbrella body of the association in Abuja.

He said “the decision to embark on strike was in a directive from the NEC of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) issued to state chapters.

“The circular was signed by Dr John Onyebueze, and Dr Aneke Emmanuel, National President and Secretary of National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD).”

Olaopa said that the NEC of NARD was meeting in Abuja to continue deliberations on next plan of action.

He described the strike as holistic as it affects all departments in UCH.

Resident doctors in UCH had on Jan. 6, embarked on one-day protest over non payments of November and December 2016 salaries.

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