Striking Doctors Allege Govt’s Plan to Proscribe NMA, Privatize Public Hospitals

Posted by African Examiner Latest Headlines, News Tuesday, July 29th, 2014

The striking Doctors under the auspices of Medical and Dental Consultants Association (MDCAN) has raised an alarm that there was a subtle plan by the government to proscribe the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), an umbrella body which called the nationwide industrial action.

MDCAN President, Dr. Steven Oluwale who alleged that the plan was leaked by a government official to the press said after the proscription, government would privatize all the public health institutions in the country.

This, Dr. Oluwale alleged would be followed by deployment of the military to guard medical institutions, while military and paramilitary medical professionals would render services temporarily to the patients.

The implication of the planned privatization he explained, was enforcing “a no-work-no-pay policy”, which would protect doctors who back out from the strike and go further to hire new ones.

Although, the Health Minister, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu denied such plan by the government, Dr. Oluwale in a statement stressed that the move was not in best interest of the parties involved in over three weeks old strike.

Professor Chukwu’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Dan Nwomeh disclosed that instead of alleged proscription, government was struggling to ensure the key issues were resolved amicably.

The medical Doctors in the state and Federal government owned hospitals embarked on nationwide strike on 24 points demand, bothering on standard pay, posting and enabling working condition. There have been accusations and counter accusations by the government and NMA on lack of sincerity to resolve the industrial dispute.