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• Threatens industrial action
• ‘State govt yet to get copy of demands’
The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has accused Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, of maltreating doctors at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, warning it could down tools.
It alleged that the governor stopped subvention to the hospital January last year, thereby subjecting doctors to untold hardship.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Communication, Mr. Yomi Layinka, however said the government would react to the allegation when it receives a copy of the association’s demands.
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He said information about its clamour at a press conference was sketchy, adding that a response would be inappropriate until government had full details of the issues.
NMA chairman, Oyo State branch, Dr. Mojisola Atalabi, flanked by immediate past chairman, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, and the leadership of the association in the state, spoke yesterday during a press conference at NMA House, Total Garden, Ibadan.
Mojisola said the conference was called with the knowledge of the association’s National President, Prof. Mike Ogirima, and that the national body was ready to support every action that could be taken.
The association accused the state government of having “wrongly classified the teaching hospital as an educational institution that naturally has a Ministry of Education as its supervisory ministry, as opposed to the Ministry of Health. Teaching hospitals are for research, teaching and health care services delivery.”
The NMA chairman said: “The government has stopped subventions to the hospital since January 2016. The stoppage of this funding has practically made it impossible to effectively operate as a hospital, as salaries of staff and other running costs could no longer be effectively paid.”
