The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has directed its members currently on strike to call it off and “go back to work.”
The president of the association, Dr. Fracis Faduyile, gave the directive Friday at a press conference in Abuja, saying that the decision was taken by the national body of the association to ensure that the COVID-19 scourge was contained and wiped off.
He stated further that this was “an emergency period and all hands must be on deck” with a promise that the national body of the association will take over the dispute with different managements and interact with different organs and agencies of government.
Last week, the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Gombe, and Kaduna state chapters of the NMA embarked on indefinite strike for different reasons.
But the national chapter of the association directed that: “In line with the above, we direct all medical association that have declared industrial actions against their management to suspend all actions as the national NMA shall take over the dispute and interact with the different organs/ agencies of government.”
The NMA also spoke on the steps taken so far by the federal government to curtail coronavirus, saying, “As a professional body saddled with the responsibilities of caring for humanity, we have taken into cognisance efforts being made by our government at different levels and we wish to commend their efforts so far.”
The association said all medical personnel had been directed to respond “positively to the national emergency in Nigeria.”
It also called on all doctors both in private and public sectors to be at their duty posts to promptly treat Nigerians who reported to their hospitals.
He said, “We call on government to provide all the necessary Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) to the different hospitals so that health personnel can adequately and properly manage their patients.”
