Nigeria’s health system is once again at the precipice of a likely nationwide shutdown due to the fact that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has issued the federal government a 21-day notice.
The doctors insist on urgent action on an immensely long list of pending issues regarding allowances, salaries, and conditions of work in general.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, NMA President Dr. Bala Audu was visibly agitated by the newly issued circular from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC). The circular, the NMA said, is short of promises made previously on Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for medical and dental physicians.
NMA contends that not only does the NSIWC circular violate long-standing guarantees but has the capability of fueling already present tension within the medical fraternity. Dr. Audu vowed that the association had already presented a proper template for salary adjustment to the government, and that was completely ignored in the recent directive by the commission.
Among their key demands, the NMA is requesting the government to retract the controversial circular and replace it with a new one in line with agreements that were reached in 2001, 2009, and 2014. The doctors are also requesting the payment of the arrears on the 25/35 percent CONMESS increments and clinical duty and accoutrement allowances forthwith.
In addition, the association demands timely payment of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) and auditing to reflect the prevailing economic weather. Among other things, there are issues that are required such as re-adjustment of hazard allowances, cumulative implementation of CONMESS in federal and state MDAs, and remittance of excess work and intermittent skills allowances.
Also in the limelight is the call for quick policy flip-around to allow non-medical doctors to be hired to serve as hospital consultants in the interest of safeguarding patients from harm and in the interest of adhering to best practice around the world. The doctors are also calling for review of retirement age, adequate health cover insurance, and pre-constituting hospital management boards to enhance governance and service delivery.
Regardless of recent commitments and dealings with affected ministries, the NMA blames the government for not implementing agreed terms. Dr. Audu said that while the association has remained patient and in good faith negotiating, this good faith should not be misconstrued as a sign of weakness.
The NMA threat is to hold the government to ransom within the 21-day ultimatum to resolve all issues or risk a national industrial action that will bring public health services to their knees.
If left unchecked, the strike will bring work in all the government hospitals in the nation to their knees — a move that will take Nigeria’s health sector to the brinks, which are already strained by infrastructure deficit and medical brain drain.
