The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, will meet with President Bola Tinubu to try and stop the planned strike by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
Abbas, who met with NARD’s leaders in Abuja on Monday, also announced the creation of a special committee to work with all parties and resolve the issue. He urged the doctors to give the House two weeks to find a solution to their demands.
NARD had given the government a two-week deadline, asking for the recruitment of more hospital staff, better facilities, 15% of the budget to go to health, and the immediate payment of outstanding allowances and arrears. They also want the government to pay the 2023 medical residency training fund and clear arrears of hazard allowances and skipped salary payments from 2014 to 2016.
The doctors said there’s no reason for the government to delay payments.
