NMA warning strike ill-motivated – FMC Makurdi Medical Director

From: Rose Ejembi, Makurdi

The Medical Director of the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Makurdi, Benue State, Dr. Peteru Inunduh, has described the 7-day warning strike embarked upon by the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), ‘ill-motivated and indefensible’.

Oon Tuesday, doctors in the state under the umbrella of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), had commenced a the warning strike over what it described as ‘the inability of the state government and management of Federal Medical Centre (FMC) to meet the demands of doctors’.

But reacting, in a statement, he personally signed and made available to Daily Sun, Inunduh insisted that there were no disputes between NMA and the Benue State Government to warrant the declaration of a strike.

According to him, “One wonders how Benue NMA declared a strike on issues involving affiliates without the affiliates declaring a dispute. Could it have been right if National NMA has directed Benue doctors to go on strike without the Benue NMA declaring a dispute with the state government on local issues.”

While saying that the issues for which the strike was declared was same as the issues National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and Joint Health Staff Union (JOHESU) went on strike and for which the Federal Government had either resolved or initiated the process of resolving, Inunduh maintained that the normal tradition was for the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) or Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) to engage management in dialogue.

Inunduh, who categorically said that he was not aware of any dispute with MDCAN and ARD in FMC Makurdi, stated further that it was only in the event of a deadlock that the NMA could come in to take over negotiation and it was only when this failed that a strike could be declared.

He, however, assured that management of FMC Makurdi would initiate the process of implementing all agreements reached with the Federal Government but called on Benue State chapter of the NMA to retrace its steps and call off the strike.