Join crusade for Nigeria’s restructuring, Ondo tells striking workers

Medics flay detention of leaders by DSS

The Ondo State government has urged workers in the state to key into the agitation for the restructuring of Nigeria to pave way for the autonomy of her federating units.

The state Commissioner for Information, Kayode Akinmade, who spoke with newsmen in Akure yesterday, said labour unions and workers have great roles to play in the actualisation of a workable system of government in the country.

He contended that if states were allowed to control their resources, government would be able to pay workers their wage as at where and when due, thus curtailing the trend of embarking on industrial action to press for emoluments.

Akinmade therefore, urged the striking workers in the state to return to work as government was doing everything possible to offset the backlogs.

Meanwhile, the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has condemned the detention of its chairman, Dr. Bamidele Betiku and three others by the Department of State Service (DSS).

The four leaders of NMA and the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP), were said to have been invited yesterday over an alleged false alarm on a purported ultimatum issued to the state government last month.

Detained alongside Betiku are NMA’s secretary, Dr. Gabriel Elekwachi, NAGGMDP’s state chairman, Dr. Gbelela Dolani and his secretary, Dr. Busari Ismaila.

The Guardian gathered that the leadership of the two unions had scheduled to hold a meeting yesterday where decision over unpaid salaries of members by the state government was to be taken.

Consequently, after a meeting in their absence, the Chairman of Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Dr. Stella Adegbehingbe, in a communiqué, directed all members to embark on “immediate and indefinite withdrawal of service till at least when two months salaries out of the five-month outstanding salaries are paid.”