Fayemi urges doctors to end strike, prevent ‘no work, no pay rule’

Says we can always collect arrears, but a life lost can’t be reversed
Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi has appealed to the striking medical doctors to call off their strike, saying that they can always collect arrears of unpaid allowances but a life lost cannot be reversed.

He urged the doctors to prevent him being forced to invoke the ‘no work, no pay rule.’

Fayemi, who spoke in a statewide broadcast yesterday, which was transmitted by all broadcasting stations in the state, said he felt more distraught realising that many workers, who got promoted five years ago, have not enjoyed financial benefits of such elevation, saying: “It wasn’t my style and intention to deprive people of their legitimate entitlements.”

“I do not want to be put in a situation where I have to invoke the ‘no work, no pay rule’ in Ekiti State,” he said.

The governor, who said that only the students in SS3 class preparing for West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) would resume on Monday, August 10, 2020 preparatory to their examinations, regretted that there had been a progressive increase in the number of COVID-19 cases recorded between July and now in Ekiti, which cumulative number of patients now stands at 152.

He, therefore, appealed to the striking doctors, under the auspices of National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP) to end the strike in the interest of poor citizens.

Fayemi, who thanked Ekiti people for their prayers, solidarity, calls, messages and goodwill during the period of his isolation and treatment for COVID-19, said: “I thank God that I am now certified free of the virus after 10 days of isolation and treatment. The fact that I could contract the virus in spite of the conscious effort to protect myself and people around me underscores my consistent warnings that we should never take things for granted.”

He said that after thorough precautionary preparations, schools could now open for the SSS3 students next week Monday, August 10, 2020.

He also disclosed that government had fumigated all the public schools and work ongoing to ensure that the environment is clean and conducive for learning.