The National Assembly on Wednesday urged the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to suspend the ongoing strike and resume negotiations with the Federal Government.
The resident doctors began a nationwide strike on Monday alleging the federal government’s failure to honour the agreement signed by both parties.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Ibrahim Oloriegbe, at an event organised by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Abuja, said the strike could lead to the deaths of patients in the nation’s hospitals.
He said: “Any issue with strike is about money and you can say you will pay in arrears but there are no arrears for life, and our primary responsibility as doctors is to save lives.
“In view of this, whatever are the issues, can always be resolved through dialogue.
“So, I join my colleagues to call on the doctors to go back to work while discussions are ongoing to resolve the issues at stake.”
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Healthcare Services, Tanko Sununu, who was also at the forum, said the National Assembly is working to ensure the amicable resolution of the dispute.
“I am calling on NARD to please look at the situation of the country and call off the strike.
“We do know that there have been issues raised and we are working hard to ensure that those issues are resolved within the shortest possible time. However, we need their cooperation.
“Luckily for us, and as it was even observed in their communique, the national assembly made provision for many allowances for NARD with residency training fund inclusive.
“We do hope that the hardship that we have suffered will be short-lived because we will agree and reach a conclusion that will help this country,” Sununu stated.
