UITH joins resident doctors strike

THE National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) chapter, has commenced an indefinite strike action on Monday to press home their demands.

This is just as the striking doctors called on the Senate to set up a committee to probe the teaching hospitals in the country to see what was going on.

Speaking on the strike action in Ilorin on Monday, president of NARD, UITH chapter, Dr Alexander Ige, said that the teaching hospital collect lowest wages out of the 54 teaching hospitals in the federation.

Dr Ige, who said that UITH chapter of NARD was a victim of all the agitation that the national body was fighting for, added that, “The management of the UITH keep on slashing our salaries since January 2014 and we are forced to contribute a fraction of the salary which management said is a palliative contribution.

“We believe contribution should be willingly and not mandatory, when we complain, we are met with threats.”

The president of UITH NARD also disclosed that members would use all necessary means in their disposal to ensure justice.

“Corruption is no more a big word in Nigeria, we appeal to the senate to establish a committee to probe the teaching hospitals and see what is going on.

“We are ready to press legal action even writing petitions to Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and ICPC,” he said.

Ige noted that some of the agitation by the national body of NARD includes withdrawal of circular reversing skipping, enrollment of all doctors into IPPIS, payment of arrears of salary shortfall and prevention of further shortfall among others.

Meanwhile, it was gathered that some medical consultants in the hospital had commenced attending to patients while the strike action continued.