Strike: Minister Begs Resident Doctors, Says Allowances Coming

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako has appealed to nonmigratory doctors to workout patience, assuring them that their long-awaited allowances volition soon beryllium paid.

Dr. Salako, who spoke during an interrogation connected Arise Television connected Thursday, disclosed that the Federal Government had already processed the funds done the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), with disbursement expected to bespeak successful the doctors’ accounts immoderate moment.

“As aboriginal arsenic this evening, the allowances should commencement dropping. I cognize that the wealth has already entered the IPPIS relationship and is owed for disbursement. So, I expect that the doctors volition statesman to person outgo precise shortly,” the curate said.

The assurance comes amid mounting hostility arsenic the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) issued a caller 24-hour ultimatum to the authorities aft its earlier 10-day deadline expired connected September 10.

The association, pursuing a six-hour virtual gathering of its National Executive Council connected Wednesday, resolved to down tools if its demands remained unmet.

While acknowledging that wellness workers crossed the state were overworked and nether pressure, Salako stressed that dialogue, not strikes, remained the champion way to resolving disputes successful the wellness sector.

“We recognise their grievances and we are engaging with them. Beyond allowances, different demands are besides being addressed done ongoing corporate bargaining meetings involving doctors, nurses, and different wellness workers.

“These processes instrumentality time, but I tin guarantee Nigerians that authorities is committed to uncovering lasting solutions,” helium said.

The curate further noted that though immoderate of the challenges facing the assemblage specified arsenic inadequate powerfulness proviso successful hospitals cannot beryllium solved overnight, authorities was moving to make the close argumentation situation and leverage public-private partnerships to easiness the load connected health facilities.