Don urges NARD to shelve strike over unpaid allowances

The Chief Medical Director (CMD) of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) Prof. Abdulwaheed Olatinwo has appealed to the members of the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) to shelve their planned strike over unpaid salary arrears.

The NARD had after its National Executive Council Meeting in Keffi, Nasarawa State, last week, threatened to withdraw services of its members from 25 tertiary medical facilities across the country if their demands are not met.

But Olatinwo in a chat with The Guardian in Ilorin, said the demands of the doctors, though auspicious, should not overshadow the “Hippocratic Oath” they swore to at the point of their admittance into the profession.

The UITH is one of the 25 health facilities listed for the proposed strike.

“I think our doctors have a point over their demands, but the issue of lives to be saved and lost if their option is to strike, should equally be paramount. They should consider this and probably shelve their planned strike.

“Doctors like many other health workers all over the world are performing essential services. Therefore, they are expected to save lives and adhere to the oaths they swore to at the point of their initiation,” he said.

Olatinwo, while canvassing prompt intervention by eminent Nigerians on the development, believed that the nation at present has enough challenges to cope with.

Besides, he canvassed “a bit more sacrifices” by Nigerians across socio-economic boundaries to re-fix the moribund economy under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The UITH boss, who described health as “too expensive” for the government to exclusively bankroll, urged endowed private individuals and corporate bodies to collaborate with the government towards securing effective healthcare delivery system for Nigerians.