Lagos Doctors May Call Off Strike

If the Lagos State Government will be able to document the agreement it reached with striking doctors in its employment within 72 hours, the five-week old strike embarked upon by medical doctors in the state will be called off on Friday.

The doctors had a marathon meeting with the State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris on Tuesday to reach an amicable resolution of the crisis at hand which had crippled activities in all public health facilities in Lagos, South West Nigeria.

Many had expected that the strike would be called off yesterday while the congress meeting of the Medical Guild was going on but the doctors said they had given the state government 72 hours to document the agreement it reached with them after which they would hold a congress on Friday to suspend the strike.

The doctors are demanding 100 percent implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, CONMESS and the reinstatement of the former Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Ibrahim Olaifa.

Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Ayobode Williams told newsmen that the doctors would not call off the strike until the state government had shown enough commitment that their demands would be met by documenting the agreement and issuing a circular to that effect before 72 hours.

“Dr. Idris has addressed us and told us of the efforts being made by the government to meet doctors’ demands. After serious deliberation by the congress, we have decided to give government 72 hours ultimatum and if the government accedes to our demands, we will meet again to call off the strike,” said Williams.

“This is based on the intervention of Dr. Jide Idris who promised to ensure that the strike is put to an end. If our demands are met, we will meet with the hope of suspending the strike. We already had an agreement with the government,” he added.

According to Williams, the doctors wanted a well spelt out commitment from the government which must be documented to make it a legal document which was not done last December when the government first made a commitment to the doctors and failed.

He said the doctors expected the state government to be responsive by signing the document to tell them when their demands would be met so that the government could be held accountable.

Vice Chairman of the Medical Guild, Dr. Taofeek Majolagbe added that “all we need is for the government to demonstrate commitment that our demands will be met and we will call off the strike.

“Our understanding with the government now is that these demands would be met. We want a circular to be issued by the government within 72 hours that our demands would be met.”

However, P.M.NEWS gathered that the state government had reviewed the sack of Dr. Olaifa and he would be called to resume work shortly and the backlog of his remuneration from the time he was sacked to date would be paid.

Olaifa will now formally resign his appointment with the government so that he would have a clean record as he pursues his political career.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga