Osun NMA Reacts To Aregbesola's Sack Threat

The Osun State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has said it will mobilise every doctor in Osun state to strike should the state’s governor, Rauf Aregbesola, carry out his threat to sack striking doctors.

The striking doctors were given until December 25 to return to work in an ultimatum by Aregbesola yesterday.

Dr. Suraj Ogunyemi, the NMA chairman in Osun state, said the doctors were on strike because they had not been paid since June, and that doctors in Osun state were not covered by the agreements reached by labour unions with the state government on workers receiving half salaries.

He added that, the NMA had put every doctor inside Osun state on the alert and they would not hesitate to shut down the health sector if the governor carried out his threat.

Reacting to claims that the doctors were on an illegal strike, Ogunyemi said the state government was served several notices and they had to resort to industrial action because of the refusal of the government to listen to their demands.

The doctors have been on strike since September 28 in protest against delayed wage payments and the government’s refusal to remit deductions made from their salaries, including contributory pension deductions.